Disclosure of Information Regarding the Ethical Treatment of Laboratory Animals

Toray Industries, Inc. aims to contribute to the human development and health enhancement through the creation of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The Company believes that animal testing is necessary and required for safety and efficacy verification in the development of new pharmaceuticals and medical devices. This testing must be carried out with respect for animal life, considering the 3R principles for animal experiments; Replacement (use of alternatives to animals), Reduction (reducing the number of animals used), and Refinement (minimization of pain). In order to ensure that animal testing is conducted ethically, Toray Industries has established in-house rules in accordance with the Act Concerning Humane Treatment and Management of Animals, the Standard for Care and Management of Laboratory Animals and Alleviation of Pain, the Guidelines for Proper Implementation of Animal Experiments, and other relevant guidelines.
The Company has set up the Animal Care and Use Committee, which carries out ethical and scientific review of the adequacy of plans, potential alternative methods, and details of experimental designs involved in all animal testing conducted at the Company. Through these efforts, the Company strives to conduct appropriate animal experiments based on the 3R principles. Specifically, as an alternative to animal experiments, Toray has adopted in silico evaluation¹ using computers and in vitro evaluation² using cultured cells.
For pharmacokinetic evaluation, the Company has been able to reduce the number of animals used by adopting a simultaneous analysis method for multiple compounds administered in mixed doses. Humane endpoints (criteria for suspending and discontinuing experiments to avoid causing undue suffering) are also set for all planned experiments.
The committee is working to raise awareness around animal testing by providing all staff involved in animal testing with training in standards of care and biannual training on the ethics of the use of experimental animals.
In addition, the Animal Care and Use Committee carries out periodic self-monitoring and evaluation of the regulations and systems in place, the committee actions, facility maintenance, and animal testing to verify that each test is conducted appropriately. Toray Industries’ Basic Research Center has continually received certification from the Assessment and Accreditation Center for Laboratory Animal Care and Use, Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center³ since 2012.

1. 1 in silico evaluation: An evaluation method that uses computers to predict the physiological activity, pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and other characteristics of a compound from existing data.
2. 2 in vitro evaluation: An evaluation method that detects the physiological activity, pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and other characteristics of a compound using human or animal cells and tissues in test tubes or culture dishes.
3. 3 For a list of facilities certified by the Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center, click here.