Gordon was referring, in part, to the development of in vitro fermentation systems for producing pharmacological therapeutics.
Transgenic technology can also help refine techniques.
For example, pharmaceutical companies often can only use primates for validating the safety and efficacy of vaccines, because other mammals are not susceptible to certain human viral infections. So scientists have inserted the human receptor gene for the polio virus into a mouse, creating a potential replacement for the current primate model. The original deadline for the ban was January 1998, providing a valid alternative test existed. The edict has both cosmetic companies and animal rights coalitions racing to develop an alternative to the Draize test the current regulatory standard. The problem with the current in vitro assays for skin irritation is that, individually, they do not meet regulatory muster.