Current Challenges:

In developing lifesaving drugs, animal research is necessary to confirm the safety, efficacy, timing and dosage for these new compounds. Unfortunately animal testing is a costly and an inexact science and currently 92% of the drugs that succeed in animal testing will fail before product launch.

A number of intrinsic problems in animal testing contribute to this high failure rate. Although relevant animal models are used, the results collected from animals do not directly extrapolate to humans. Also, the number of variables tested is inherently constrained due to time, resources and the physical requirements of the tests. Therefore the researcher must make many assumptions and educated guesses to design and develop an effective protocol.

Finally, scrutiny is increasing for the use of animal testing. Pressure exists to replace animal testing when appropriate and to collect more effective results while reducing the number of animals. This directly addresses the IACUC mandates for replacement, refinement and reduction in animal usage.

© 2007 Immunetrics