As part of the transition towards animal-free research, the National Committee for Advisory on Animal Testing Policy (NCad) has been commissioned by the Ministers of Education, Culture, and Science (OCW) and Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality (LNV) to develop a Vision for animal-free innovations across various domains, including the cardiovascular field.
The shared objective is to position the Netherlands as a global leader in the transition towards animal-free innovation (TPI). This initiative not only focuses on reducing animal experimentation but also on advancing animal-free alternatives, improving the reproducibility, transparency, and quality of scientific research, and accelerating promising developments in the fields of science and safety.
To gain a realistic and comprehensive understanding of the current animal models and animal-free innovations and advancements within the cardiovascular domain, it was decided to organize this exploration through a recommendation task from the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA) Leadership Program in 2022.
The mission of the DCVA is to reduce the disease burden caused by cardiovascular diseases by 25% by 2030. To achieve this, the DCVA focuses on early detection of heart and vascular diseases and the rapid translation of excellent research into improved healthcare.
The vision for cardiovascular animal (free) innovations unites these missions into an aspiration for high-quality science while minimizing the use of animals.
To access the complete report, please click here.