Committee for Ethics in Animal Experimentation (CETEA)
Protecting animals included in research projects
Research involving animals has led to important advances in our understanding of biology and helped develop most of the treatments currently used in medical and veterinary practice. This approach remains crucial for understanding biology, furthering our knowledge of human and animal diseases and developing and improving treatments for the benefit of patients worldwide. It is a necessary prerequisite to any research on human subjects.
As most animals are sentient beings, this type of research is strictly regulated and requires prior authorization from the French Ministry for Higher Education and Research. A prerequisite for authorization is a positive opinion from the Animal Research Ethics Committee (CEEA) affiliated with the institution where the research will be taking place. The Institut Pasteur set up the Committee for Ethics in Animal Experimentation (CETEA) for this purpose.
The Institut Pasteur only uses animal models if no other experimental approach can replace them and is actively developing alternative and/or complementary methods (e.g. organoids, organs-on-chips and artificial intelligence).
Duties of the CETEA
The CETEA is a body for assessment, dialog and reflection which:
- performs ethical reviews of projects involving the use of animals in experimental procedures, as required by the administrative process for the authorization of such projects;
- delivers opinions to the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, if necessary with guidelines for project leaders, to secure authorization for project implementation;
- subject to project requirements, requests leaders for retrospective feedback to ensure that animal welfare was safeguarded;
- collects and analyzes this retrospective feedback;
- takes action to promote ethical principles in animal testing;
- drafts an annual report at the request of the French National Committee for Ethical Reflection on Animal Testing (CNREEA).
Regulatory basis for the CETEA
The French regulatory framework to protect animals used for scientific purposes (decree 2013-118 and related orders dated February 1, 2013) transposes European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.
It is particularly based on the 3Rs principle (W.M.S. Russell and R.L. Burch, 1959):
- Replacing sentient animals with alternative approaches where possible (organs-on-chips, organoids, animal models with less capacity to feel pain, like certain invertebrates);
- Reducing the number of animals used;
- Refining methodologies to improve animal welfare and minimize the severity of experimental procedures.
Members
Animal Research Ethics Committee membership is governed by strict criteria; a variety of profiles and skills (scientists, non-scientists and veterinarians) and different affiliations (both Institut Pasteur staff and external members) should be represented. The Institut Pasteur's CETEA has 25 to 30 members, all of whom complete initial ethical review training and subsequent training on an annual basis to improve their practice and keep up to date with the latest knowledge in the 3Rs.
CETEA chairship in 2024
- Chair: Benoit Robert
- Vice-Chair: Gilles Gheusi
Find out more
- The use of animals in the Institut Pasteur's research programs – as indicated on this page, the Institut Pasteur is a signatory of the Transparency Charter on the Use of Animals for Scientific and Regulatory Purposes in France.
- EU actions for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes
Contact
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Protecting research participants in and outside France
Any scientific research that involves the voluntary participation of individuals, even if only via biological samples or personal data, must comply with legal and ethical regulations.
In France, research involving human participants requires authorization from an official Ethical Research Committee (CPP). If the research is taking place in France and the opinion of a CPP is not required, scientists can sometimes demonstrate compliance with a favorable opinion from a Research Ethics Committee (CER).
For situations in which research cannot be reviewed by a CPP – particularly if taking place abroad – the Institut Pasteur has an ethical review committee for research involving human subjects: the Institutional Review Board (IRB). IRB opinions are recognized at international level, and foreign funding bodies financing Institut Pasteur projects in France may also request IRB review for projects.
If a research project is conducted in another country by the Institut Pasteur (as project "sponsor"), the IRB ensures completion of a dual ethical review of the protocol ahead of the research, conducted both on its own in France and by an eligible committee in the country where the research is to take place. If the Institut Pasteur is a project partner rather than sponsor, its IRB may review the research protocol if there are no other eligible ethics committees in France.
Duties of the IRB
The Institut Pasteur's IRB was set up in 2009, tasked with reviewing the ethical dimension of research protocols. It can approve them, request amendments or prevent them from going ahead. Its authorization is mandatory and valid for a one-year period. Authorization requests must therefore be renewed each year.
When is the IRB's approval required?
Research projects must be submitted to the Institut Pasteur's IRB if:
- a research funding body (such as the National Institutes of Health in the United States) financing a project led by an Institut Pasteur scientist requires IRB review;
- the Institut Pasteur is the legal representative for a research project conducted abroad.
Research projects may be submitted to the Institut Pasteur's IRB if:
- the project leader requires an ethical opinion from the home institution to improve the ethical quality of the research, to guarantee the ethical quality of the research protocol to a funding body or publisher, or to obtain an ethical opinion in the absence of another eligible ethics committee.
Regulatory basis for the IRB
The Institut Pasteur's IRB is accredited with the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). As an institution hosting an IRB, the Institut Pasteur assured the DHHS Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) that it would comply with section 45 CFR 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which governs IRBs, as well as international ethical standards such as the Declaration of Helsinki, guidelines of the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS), Belmont Report, Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology, and UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.
It also refers to the Institut Pasteur's Ethics Charter.
Its work is based on the following broad ethical principles:
- respect for the autonomy of people, particularly the need to obtain free and informed consent;
- the risk-benefit ratio, namely research risks are minimized and proportionate compared with existing alternatives;
- justice and equity, implying a lack of discrimination in participant treatment and selection and research venues.
Members
IRB membership is governed by strict criteria; a variety of profiles and skills (scientists and non-scientists) and different affiliations (within and outside the institution) should be represented and gender balance upheld. The Institut Pasteur's IRB has 9 to 15 full members and a variable number of alternate members. Its members are divided into an internal and external panel.
IRB chairship in 2024
- Chair: Julie Henry
- Vice-Chair: Vania Rosas Magallanes
Find out more
- Ethical Research Committees (CPPs) (in French)
- French Federation of Research Ethics Committees (CERs) (in French)