Skip to content
Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control

Confidence in biological medicines

  • Stay connected
  • Shopping Basket
  • Pay Now
  • Login / Register
  • Home
  • Products
  • Standardisation
  • Control testing
  • Science and research
  • Expert services
  • About us
  • Latest news
  • Worldwide impact of NIBSC
  • Mission and values
  • Careers
  • Quality and governance
  • Staff profiles
  • Contact us
  • Collaborations
  • Suppliers
  • Scientific Advisory Committee
  • Minutes of the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body
  • Our use of animals
  • Privacy notice
  • Home  /  
  • About us  /  
  • Our use of animals

Our use of animals 

Biological medicines are made from biological (living) sources such as bacteria and viruses, blood or cells. They form an important part of our healthcare and cover medicines like vaccines that are routinely used to prevent disease and treat patients worldwide.  

At NIBSC we develop standards and reference materials, test medicinal products and carry out scientific research, activities that are essential for making sure the biological medicines that patients receive are safe and effective.
NIBSC activities in standards, control and researchOur work protects public health and improves lives. For example, our experts make sure that meningitis vaccines are safe before they’re used in childhood immunisation programmes, respond to worldwide health emergencies such as pandemic flu outbreaks and are a key part of global initiatives tackling infectious diseases like Polio.

Find out more about NIBSC impact on public health.

To support our mission to protect and improve public health, some of our work can involve the use of animals. Our scientists will always carefully examine whether non-animal methods, such as cells in the lab or computer models, can be used to understand their scientific questions before starting a project. But in certain situations, a suitable alternative cannot be found and animals may be used to:

  • Make sure that new vaccines against diseases such as polio and meningitis are safe
  • Produce critical materials to support global responses to public health emergencies
  • Test new ideas for treating diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C
  • Investigate unwanted effects people may experience after taking biological medicines
  • Confirm the activity of vaccines before they are used

We are committed to the principles of the 3Rs, which aim to replace, reduce and refine animal use, and play a leading role in many research projects looking to develop new ways to test medicines without using animals.

In January 2018, we signed the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research making a commitment to improve communications about our use of animals in scientific research and medicines testing.

  • Animal welfare
  • The 3Rs
  • Regulation of animal use
  • Number and type of animals
Further information

Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK

Home Office Guidance on research and testing using animals

Understanding Animal Research (UAR)

Understanding Animal Research is a not-for-profit organisation that explains why animals are used in medical and scientific research.

National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)

The NC3Rs is a UK-based scientific organisation dedicated to replacing, refining and reducing the use of animals in research and testing (the 3Rs).

  • Careers
  • Terms and conditions
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy notice
  • Cookies
  • Sitemap