THE recent admission by drug giant GlaxoSmithKline's vice president of genetics that 90 per cent of their drugs only work in half of people is a tragic consequence of the continued use of animal tests for assessing the safety and effectiveness of drugs.
Not only do these unreliable experiments lead to drugs which don't work, they also enable dangerous products to flow on to the market.
Among the many drugs that were supposedly proved safe' in animal tests are treatments for ulcers, asthma and arthritis that have gone on to demonstrate serious, sometimes fatal, adverse reactions in people.
Misleading data from animal tests also delays real cures reaching people.
Computer programmes, cell cultures and micro-dosing (giving patients a tiny amount of a drug to be tested) all provide accurate information which is relevant to humans. Only when these methods become the industry norm, rather than experimenting on mice, rats, cats, dogs and monkeys, will medical research really progress.
Claudia Tarry, Animal Aid, Tonbridge, Kent.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article