BRUSSELS, Belgium - The main European drug industry association, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, has launched a stout defense of the use of genetically modified animals in biomedical research.

In a pre-emptive move to head off a growing wave of concern among European environmental and animal-rights groups, EFPIA argued in a new position paper that genetic approaches already have become indispensable for a continued deepening of understanding of disease, and that therefore basic research with transgenic animals is necessary.

Describing biotechnology as "a very promising, crucial technology, with far-reaching consequences for our society," EFPIA said that the use of model organisms is fundamental to all aspects of biomedical research - the study of basic biological mechanisms, understanding of disease pathology and development of new drugs.

The industry said it recommends the application of best practices for the use of transgenic animals. Such animals must be used in biomedical research only where no other scientifically valid means of obtaining the required information is possible.

Regulations controlling the production and use of genetically modified animals must be strictly observed. The most efficient and refined techniques should always be used. And the publication of new mutants and strain characteristics should be encouraged by the pharmaceutical industry to avoid duplication and to distribute models to a wider scientific community.

The group said storage (such as cryopreservation of embryos or freezing of sperm) of strains should be carried out when they are no longer needed, with cataloguing and access to other researchers. And careful consideration should be given to the health status of transgenic strains. Producing new strains to a high health status may remove the need for rederivation at a later date, it said.

And in an attempt to placate critics, it said the research-based pharmaceutical industry supports all efforts to reduce the use of animals in medical research. But "animals will remain necessary," since drugs in the entire organism can have effects that are not detectable when using cell or tissue cultures, biochemical assays or computer simulations.