Animal Welfare

Institutional statement on the use of research animals

We are convinced that animal experimentation plays a fundamental role in the discovery of the underlying biological mechanisms of disease, and in the developing of medical treatments. Without research in animals, we would not have most of the medicines, antibiotics, vaccines and surgical techniques that are applied nowadays in human and veterinary medicine.

An important part of the research undertaken at Vivotecnia aims at contributing to the improvement of human health and wellbeing and is carried out thanks to the use of animals, for example during the preclinical toxicity and efficacy studies needed to bring new drugs to clinical phase. 

In accordance with current legislation, no compound can be tested on humans without having been previously tested on animals. Preclinical studies are aimed to anticipate any risk that the drug may cause in humans, so that the use of animals in experimentation is almost unavoidable.

The welfare of animals used for research purposes is of paramount relevance for Vivotecnia, and also the strict compliance and respect to the current legislation on the protection of animals used in research and for other scientific purposes, including education. Our aim is to achieve the highest standards in animal welfare, not only from the point of view of our moral responsibility on them but also because we are convinced we could not achieve research excellence without proper animal welfare. Our experiments with animals follow the legal standard and are assessed by an Ethics Committee on Animal Experimentation that promotes the use of alternative methods, the reduction in the number of animals used and the refinement in the experimental protocols applied. Not a single research project requiring the use of animals could start without the appropriate and required Ethics assessment and the eventual authorization from the competent authorities.

Vivotecnia also ensures that the personnel involved in animal care and researchers do have the adequate education and training and the required professional skills and that all resources are provided to properly keep research animals in terms of facilities, husbandry, wellbeing, and veterinary care.

All Vivotecnia work procedures are in adherence to EU Directive (2010/63/UE) and Spanish Regulation (RD 53/2013).