Animal research provides a flawed model,so why not stop?
Much of the research involving the development of new drugs still uses animals. Apart
from moral questions about inflicting pain and death on animals for the purpose of
medical research, there are an increasing number of questions about the suitability of
using laboratory animals for research into human diseases and drug testing.
There are many examples clearly showing that animal models are not predictive of
human health. Recently, a group of scientists wrote an open letter in The
Lancet (addressed to the UK prime minister and health secretary) pointing out that
more than 90% of new drugs fail in clinical trials.
The authors of the letter say part of the reason for this is the reliance on animal testing
to predict drug behaviour in people. They claim that animal tests do this with the same
probability as the toss of a coin. And they suggest that animal research be replaced with
promising new technologies that increase clinical predictability as well as improving
efficiency and cost.
Other researchers have voiced similar concerns. An expert scientific group on phase one
(screening for safety) clinical trials in the United Kingdom, for instance, concluded that
pre-clinical animal studies may not reproduce the intended pharmacological effect, may
