The Humane Research and Testing Act: Advancing Science by Creating a New Center for Alternatives at the US National Institutes of Health

If enacted into law, the Humane Research and Testing Act would be a positive step forward in advancing non-animal models and human-based biological techniques. The establishment of a new NIH center will help foster research into alternatives that can be used to fill in the gaps in our understanding of the underlying processes that lead to disease. The new center will also provide funding and opportunities for researchers working on new technology to incentivize additional research and act as a focal point for replacement alternatives expertise and knowledge. The HRTA could be an effective complement to laws such as the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act (2016) to encourage the use of non-animal methodologies in toxicity testing, as well as help overcome barriers preventing the use of alternative models in basic research. Such barriers include the creation and availability of alternative techniques, the awareness of new methods, and the transparency surrounding alternative models (Gruber and Hartung, 2004). The HRTA addresses each of those issues by creating a place for researchers to collaborate and produce information that can be used to help meet the reduction and replacement requirements of laws like the Lautenberg Act. Creating structures that will allow for the funding and development of alternatives will inspire researchers to become aware of, and to use, modern technologies which have greater potential to identify key human disease pathways and endpoints. Recognizing the need and value of this new center does not diminish what animal models have done for human and environmental health, just as the HRTA does not take away from animal research. This legislation simply creates a new center to expand opportunities. It would serve as a way to incentivize innovative methods to tackle 21st-century health problems.