Press release - November 26th, 2009

Antidote Europe receives achievement award

Antidote Europe, the French based NGO, was awarded yesterday with the Professor Pietro Croce prize for its achievements in the fields of scientific progress and public health. The award ceremony took place at the Palazzo dei Conservatori under the auspices of the mayor of Rome, a Ministry of Health representative and several distinguished academics. This annual award is sponsored by the Italian groups Equivita and the National Ecological Movement (UNA).

The French NGO has worked tirelessly to promote modern toxicology and helped to include the concept of "toxicogenomics" in the European Union's chemical testing programme, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals). The application of toxicogenomics was the subject of a special session held last week in Brussels by an EU risk assessment committee.

Currently, Antidote Europe is waging a public awareness campaign on the public health dangers of the synthetic chemical bisphenol A, found in baby bottles and other plastic products. Previous studies using toxicogenomics and human cells have demonstrated the hormone mimicking effects of bisphenol A (see www.danger-bisphenol.com). This chemical is now a prime suspect for the significant increase over the past few decades of hormone-sensitive cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer.

In addition, Antidote Europe has commissioned a laboratory study on the effects of single pesticides and pesticide mixtures, on human cells. Very few scientific studies exist on the effects of pesticide mixtures on human health.

The late Professor Pietro Croce, a member of the American College of Pathologists, was one of Italy's most outspoken critics of animal research. A prolific writer and public speaker, he subsequently spearheaded an international movement away from animal experiments, in favour of modern methods of scientific research.

Antidote Europe is a non-profit association created by scientists and researchers working towards biomedical research methods that represent sound science.

For interviews please contact:
Andre Menache 44 (0)7906-446889 (UK)
Claude Reiss 33 (0)4 76 36 35 87 (FR)

You can find this press release in French on www.antidote-europe.org/cp26nov09_fr.htm

PRESS RELEASE from Equivita 24/11/09

Sponsored by
Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Policies
and the Municipality of Rome

With the aim of protecting the health of every living creature and preserving the environment and the planet,

EQUIVITA’s Scientific Committee and the National Ecological Movement (UNA)
kindly invite you to attend the conference

HUMAN HEALTH: THE FUTURE OF TESTS AND PREVENTION. THE CASE OF PESTICIDES
on the occasion of the award of the
"Pietro Croce Prize for the Abolition of Animal experimentation" - 3rd edition

25th NOVEMBER, 3-7 pm
"Pietro da Cortona" Hall, Capitoline Museums
Palazzo dei Conservatori, Piazza del Campidoglio 1, Rome

The anti-vivisection scientific movement, which has always regarded animal experimentation as an obstacle to the progress of medicine and toxicology ("No animal specie scan be accepted as an experimental model for any other species",Pietro Croce), has obtained some remarkable achievements over the last three years.

The Report: "Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: a Vision and a Strategy", issued by the US National Research Council (NRC) upon the request of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated: “Advances in toxicogenomics, bioinformatics, systems biology, epigenetics, and computational toxicology could transform toxicity testing from a system based on wholeanimal testing to one founded primarily on in vitro methods”.

Jeremy Rifkin noted: “Anti-vivisection societies and animal rights organizations have been making this argument for a long time, only to be scorned by scientific bodies, medical associations, and industry lobbies […]. Now, it is the scientific establishment that has come to the very same conclusions. Toxicity testing in animals is bad science. While the new methodologies for toxicity testing […] hold the promise of saving the lives of millions of human beings”. (L’Espresso 15/07/09)

Pietro Croce, head of the Research Laboratory at the Sacco Hospital in Milan and member of the “College of American Pathologists", is the scientist that has most contributed, in Europe and in the world, to the spreading of this new scientific thought, especially through his book "Vivisection or science?", which has been circulated all over the world since 1982.
Today, criticisms to the "animal model" and the intention of substituting it with truly scientific methods of experimentation have clearly emerged not only in the three articles appeared in "Nature" in the last few months, but also in the conclusions adopted at the "VII World Congress on Alternatives and the Use of Animals in the Life Sciences" (Rome, 30/08/09 – 3/09/09). See: http://www.aimgroup.eu120091WC71files/PressreleaseSeptember3.pdf

The "Pietro Croce Prize for the Abolition of Animal Experimentation" is funded by the National Ecological Movement (UNA).

For info: EQUIVITA’s Scientific Committee: Tel. + 39.06.3220720, + 39.335.8444949 E-mail: equivita@equivita.it ; Web site: www.equivita.org

PROGRAMME

3 p.m. Introduction by promoter organizations:
EQUIVITA Scientific Committee: Fabrizia Pratesi de Ferrariis
National Ecological Movement (UNA): Giulia Lodigiani

3:20 p.m. Welcome address by the Councillor for the Environment, Municipality of Rome: Fabio de Lillo

3:35 p.m. Address by the Under-Secretary for Health, Hon. Francesca Martini*

3:50 p.m. Human-based toxicology for the protection of human health
Gianni Tamino, Professor of Biology at the University of Padua, president of EQUIVITA, member of the National Committee for Food Safety: "Pesticides, animal experimentation and food safety".
Claude Reiss, molecular toxicologist, director emeritus of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) Paris, President of "Antidote Europe": "Bisphenol A: a time bomb".

4:40 p.m. "Pietro Croce Prize for the Abolition of Animal Experimentation", 3rd Edition
Gianni Tamino, President of EQUIVITA: Introduction.
Franca Rita Catelani, Coordinator of National Ecological Movement (UNA): outline of the work of Pietro Croce and award of the prize to the winner:

"Antidote Europe" for a research project based on toxicogenomics:
"Effects of pesticides on human health"

5:10 p.m. Contributions
André Ménache, Veterinary Surgeon, director of "Antidote Europe", presents the project: "Effects of pesticides on human health".
Luigi Campanella, Professor of Environmental Chemistry, President of the Italian Chemistry Society, dean emeritus of the faculty of Natural Sciences at the University "La Sapienza", Rome: "Following the teaching of nature to overcome animal experimentation, with a special focus on the implementation of the EU REACH regulation".
Massimo Formica, neurologist, Member of ISDE (International Society of Doctors for the Environment): "Pesticides and human pathology".
Fulco Pratesi, Honorary President of the WWF: "Organic agriculture for the protection of the environment and the well-being of Man".

6:40 p.m. Discussion

7:20 p.m. Sylvia Croce: closing remarks and thanks to the Mayor of Rome and the Councillor for the Environment.

7:30 p.m. End of conference

*To be confirmed