§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether 126W she will list in the Official Report the work done by the Medical Research Council, either directly or sponsored by it, into finding an alternative to the lethal dose 50 test; and what research the Council is currently engaged in to find an alternative toxicity test not involving living animals.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsThe Council strongly discourages the indiscriminate use of the lethal dose 50 technique, as it is not always necessary. Much effort is being expended in trying to improve the predictive value of toxicity tests carried out prior to administration to humans of drugs. Apart from work in intact animals, studies are being made in perfused organs and isolated cells grown in tissue culture. Computer analogue and serological techniques have also been used instead of animals. Although some of the techniques are promising there is not yet any real alternative to the LD50 technique for assessing acute toxicity to a whole animal.