§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the areas of research or categories of product involving the use of primates in(a) toxicity and (b) non-toxicity tests for the intention of registration of medical or dental products under the Medicines Act 1968 and equivalent international legislation in 1992;
(2) what assessment he has made of the increase in the number of primates used in scientific procedures required by the Medicines Act 1968 and the equivalent international legislation during 1992.
§ Mr. Charles Wardle[holding answers 7 December 1993]: The increase in the number of primates used in scientific procedures in 1992 was attributable principally to a general increase in the number of pharmaceutical products submitted for chronic toxicity testing.
Total numbers of primates used increased from 4,518 in 1991 to 5,018 in 1992, as shown in table 14 of the "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain 1992", Cm 2356.
Table 7 provides information on procedures for toxicity tests on the basis of broad areas and relates to the use of animals in the final stages of regulatory testing when the purpose is to identify any unexpected or adverse effects in body systems immediately prior to use of medicine by humans.
Table 4 relates to information presented to regulatory authorities and derived from animal testing at an earlier stage of product development.
To list individual areas of research or categories of product would be in breach of the requirement of section 24(1) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which provides for the protection of confidential information.