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Animals in research

Many diseases that cause suffering or death - including HIV/AIDS, cancer, malaria, and Alzheimer’s - are in need of new, more effective treatments. At GSK, our aim is to discover and develop medicines and vaccines that can help alleviate the pain and distress caused by such diseases.

At present, this goal would be unattainable if animal research were not an option. Animal studies remain a small but vital part of our research, as they are the only method that can show the effects of a potential new medicine in a living body before it is used in humans. Furthermore, animal research can provide vital information about the causes of diseases and how they may develop.

However, we know that animal research can be a sensitive subject and that people are interested in it. So this section of our website aims to explain why and when we work with animals, what happens to those animals during and after studies, and how we are working to develop alternatives to animal research.

Replacing, reducing, and refining animal testing

The way we conduct our animal research and development is guided by our commitment to an ethical approach that includes:

• replacing studies using animals with other methods where possible
• reducing the number of animals used in studies by applying new technologies or study methods
• refining the techniques we use so that we eliminate or minimise pain and distress and improve animal welfare.

These are known as the three Rs (3Rs). Find out more about our approach to the 3Rs, including alternatives to animal testing on our 3Rs page.

The animals we work with

The vast majority of the animals that we work with - over 98 per cent - are rodents and rabbits. The remaining 2 per cent includes fish, ferrets, pigs, dogs, cats and non-human primates. We only use animals in studies where there is no alternative, and similarly we only conduct studies in non-human primates where they are the species most appropriate for those studies and the information to be obtained is critical. Read about our work with non-human primates, including when and why we use them.

We take our commitment to animal welfare seriously.