Ethical Considerations in Animal Experiments Ono's corporate philosophy is "Dedicated to Man's Fight against Disease and Pain." We strive to develop more effective and safer drugs that support the healthy lives of people. To this end, we undertake the discovery of original, breakthrough drugs and thereby aim to make our social contribution. In the process of new drug discovery, it is essential that we conduct drug discovery experiments on laboratory animals before embarking on clinical trials on human subjects. Experiments using laboratory animals not only are employed in drug discovery by pharmaceutical companies but also constitute an important method that supports research activities in medicine and biology. It brings immeasurable benefit to the enhancement of human welfare and health. Animal experiments are conducted under the general protocol of research with due attention to animals and experiment conditions so that they are reproducible. What is more, Ono believes that from the viewpoint of animal welfare we should respect the lives of animals and minimize pain that they may suffer, conducting experiments with the minimum number of animals needed to obtain the data required. To carry out appropriate experiments with consideration for animal welfare, Ono researchers draft an experiment plan based on the guideline set by the Working Group for Laboratory Animal Welfare of the Japanese Society of Laboratory Animal Resources. The experiment plan goes under the scrutiny of the Ethics Committee of Animal Experimentation before implementation. From both scientific and animal welfare viewpoints, experiments are appropriately conducted.  We are also taking active steps towards adopting alternative methods to animal testing.