"An ambitious program announced today by a coalition of government agencies could lead to the end of animal testing to evaluate the safety of new chemicals and drugs.

Three agencies — the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicology Program and the National Institutes of Health — have signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding' to begin developing the new methods. The collaboration is described in a paper in today's edition of the journal Science.

The agreement is a 'milestone' says Martin Stephens of the Humane Society of the United States. 'We believe this is the beginning of the end for animal testing. We think the (conversion) process will take about 10 years.'"