Our policy

The Novartis Animal Welfare Policy, approved by the Executive Committee in April 2005, sets out the key principles, requirements and responsibilities relating to animal welfare in Novartis-sponsored animal studies. It states that all animals must be treated humanely and cared for in accordance with the particular needs of the given species and reaffirms our commitment to the 3R principles (Reduction, Refinement, Replacement).

Our policy makes provision for the establishment of an Animal Welfare Organization to steer and coordinate related activities at local and global level. The organization is overseen by our Corporate Animal Welfare Officer (AWO). This function is backed up by four Global AWOs responsible for animal welfare in the Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines and Diagnostics, Sandoz and Consumer Health Divisions, who liaise in turn with National and Business Unit AWOs. In addition, Novartis has established a Global Animal Welfare Committee to coordinate the policy and the Animal Welfare Organization, to define Novartis animal welfare standards and discuss recent developments in animal welfare issues and regulations.

While animal testing remains a core element in pharmaceutical R&D, the highest possible standards of animal welfare and good scientific and ethical practice will continue to be enforced at Novartis. At the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) at Cambridge, Massachusetts, for example, a 24-hour, 365-day open-door policy to state AWOs is being put in place, in accordance with our company policy. The aim is to create an open environment in which to develop animal welfare expertise.

Where animal testing is the only option, a thorough review of the experimental procedure, selection of animal species and definition of test population is required. As Novartis not only uses in-house testing, but also contracts out such activities, careful vendor selection and auditing is crucial to ensure that the external partners fulfill our animal welfare standards. Many countries have clear legislation on animal welfare and experimentation to which Novartis is fully compliant. In less regulated countries, Novartis applies the company's own standards and requests that animal studies are performed to meet, as a minimum, US laws and regulations.

We respect the laws governing the protection of animals for experimental purposes and try to exceed mandatory animal welfare regulations wherever possible. Through our Animal Welfare Standards, we ensure that the same requirements are met or exceeded for all our internal and external animal studies globally. We observe stringent specifications with regard to animal procurement and transportation, housing and husbandry, environmental enrichment, social and behavioral preferences, hygiene and experimental procedures.

An issue of particular ethical concern to some stakeholders is the use of non-human primates in research. Novartis policy states that we will not use great apes unless required or recommended by regulatory bodies, or where necessary to answer a biomedically relevant scientific question - and then only when no alternative is available. In these rare cases such experiments must be supported by the Global Animal Welfare Committee and subsequently approved by the Corporate Animal Welfare Officer in consultation with the Chairman and CEO of Novartis.

Finally, Novartis policy ensures that all staff members working with animals are adequately trained and qualified and remain abreast of new developments in their particular fields. This includes making adequate training arrangements for education in all current local regulatory, scientific and ethical requirements and guidelines, as well as in applicable Novartis guidelines and policies.