The government has decided to focus on supporting the development of 'advanced alternative testing methods' that can replace animal testing, which has been essential in the drug development process.
On the 27th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the launch of the 'Non-clinical Efficacy Evaluation Technology and Product Development Project for Advanced Biopharmaceuticals' performance dissemination consultative body at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul.
In the industry, non-clinical animal testing has been conducted to confirm toxicity and efficacy by administering drugs to animals in the development of new drug candidates. However, ethical issues have arisen due to clinical failures caused by biological differences between animals and humans.
In response, major countries around the world are actively pursuing the development of 'advanced alternative testing methods' to replace non-clinical animal testing.
In particular, the United States announced in April that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to gradually abolish non-clinical animal testing. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has noted plans to support the development of advanced alternative testing methods as a government strategic project with up to $40 million over 10 years.
The market size for alternative animal testing is expected to expand from $1.8 billion in 2023 to $4.8 billion by 2032.
The government plans to concentrate on supporting the development of 'advanced alternative testing methods' to secure technological leadership in the advanced bio industry and enhance the global competitiveness of domestic bio companies.
To this end, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will jointly promote the 'Non-clinical Efficacy Evaluation Technology and Product Development Project for Advanced Biopharmaceuticals' starting this year.
Through this project, support will be provided for the development of foundational technologies for the establishment and verification of micro-physiological systems (technologies that implement human organs or tissues on small chips to conduct experiments under conditions similar to those of living organisms). Plans include supporting the development of evaluation methods and micro-physiological systems with high human simulation rates that have been difficult to achieve with existing animal models.
A government official said, 'The advanced alternative testing methods can resolve ethical issues related to animal testing that has been essential in the drug development process and predict human biological responses to candidate drugs under development more accurately.' They also noted, 'Moreover, it is being evaluated as a promising future technology in the rapidly growing field of advanced bio, related to the growth trend of the global market.'