Experiments on living animals are a necessary part of the discovery and development of new drugs but we acknowledge that such experiments are a source of concern. While we cannot replace all animal experiments in the foreseeable future, Novo Nordisk supports the principle of the three Rs: to reduce, refine and replace animal experiments.

Close collaboration with stakeholders - Improved housing for animals - Lobbying for higher standards 

The new state-of-the-art housing facilities for Novo Nordisk’s experimental animals encourage natural behaviour and minimise stress. The spacious new pen systems for dogs and rabbits allow the animals to socialise. The rabbit group housing is a pilot project. To their keepers, spending time with the animals is important and also improves the welfare of the animals.

Novo Nordisk uses many experimental animals and therefore has a responsibility to act with due respect for the animals by establishing and ensuring high ethical and welfare standards. We support transpar-ency and openness about animal experimentation and will continue to report on our use of experimental animals.

Experiments on living animals should only be carried out when no suitable alternative methods are available, and efforts should be made to continue to improve animal welfare. In the spirit of the three Rs, Novo Nordisk has reduced the number of animals used in experiments by approximately 70% over the last decade.

It is expected that our use of experimental animals will continue to decline over the next decades as new emerging technologies will make it possible to obtain important information without the use of living animals. However, it is not yet possible to examine the complex interactions in a living organism solely by the use of eg cell cultures and tissues.

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We collaborate with a wide variety of stakeholders, including animal welfare and animal rights organisations. For many years we have collaborated with the Danish Animal Welfare Society, and have developed a common understanding of animal welfare issues. Together, we have identified ways to improve the welfare of animals at Novo Nordisk, with special attention to their housing, where the animals spend most of their time. We have also consulted a wide range of other experts in the animal welfare field to prompt new thinking and innovations.

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In 2003, we continued our efforts to improve housing standards for experimental animals used at Novo Nordisk. A new state-of-the-art facility for rodents and a new rabbit facility, both designed to encourage natural behaviour and minimise stress, were constructed on the basis of our collaboration with animal welfare experts and the Danish Animal Welfare Society. These facilities exceed the legal requirements for housing of experimental animals. This means that housing conditions which reflect the social and behavioural needs of the animals have now been implemented for all the animal species at Novo Nordisk except for rabbits. All of the rabbits will be housed in the new pen system when the new facility is fully in use and biological product control in rabbits has been phased out. We are thereby on our way to meeting our target of establishing and fully implementing by 2005 new Novo Nordisk standards for optimal housing in consideration of the needs of the animals we use. 

Ole Münster, director of the Danish Animal Welfare Society, says that while his organisation would prefer not to have any experiments on animals, “there is no doubt that we can see that the experimental animals used by Novo Nordisk are better off now than they were before these new housing standards were implemented”.

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We welcome the new Danish legislation on housing and care of experimental animals that will contribute to improved welfare for experimental animals. We have also been proactive in trying to positively influence the development of stricter animal welfare legislation both at national level and with the European Union and Council of Europe.

Training and socialisation of experimental animals, and proper training of employees handling the animals are essential to ensure the welfare of experimental animals. In 2003 we continued our work on training and socialisation of our dogs. For all other species, initiatives have been taken to improve and extend species-specific training and socialisation to ensure the highest degree of welfare and well-being under normal housing and experimental situations. Our internal course on animal experimentation was further improved to meet new challenges in animal welfare and animal ethics.

We are on course to meet our target of contributing to the total removal of animal tests for biological product control by 2004. A cell-based assay has been developed and validated as an alternative to the glucagon bioassay in rabbits. The assay has been approved as an alternative to the rabbit test by the Danish authorities and will be implemented during 2004. Negotiations with the authorities to delete the bioidentity test in rabbits for insulin are taking place.

We have also set a target for developing and implementing improved measures and standards in relation to animal experimentation at external contractors such as contract research organisations (CROs) by 2005. In 2003, we tightened our proced-ures for animal experimentation and testing at CROs and updated our principles for use of experimental animals and our internal guideline for monitoring animal welfare at the CROs.

In a project with the Danish Centre for Bioethics, we have developed tools for assessing animal welfare, including the use of telemetry. The impact of animal housing conditions and refining the experimental procedures on animal welfare have been evaluated successfully using the methods developed.

Animals purchased
(click to view table as pdf file)

Number and species of animals purchased
(click to view table as pdf file)