Can we say No to Animals in Drug Testing?

Is it time we phased out animals from drug testing? Quite recently, the National Institutes of Health announced that it is discontinuing experiments on chimpanzees. Many know that the majority of the drugs that pass animal testing then go on to fail in human trials. Ethics aside, there are several other scientific reasons we need to move away from animal testing, and fundamentally move towards science.

Human and mice genes are so different that it becomes very challenging to replicate human cells with rodents – no matter how hard we try. This means that how well a drug treats rodents is not always directly transferrable to humans. This “testing efficacy” is a major problem in drug discovery. Hence, drugs that pass through animal testing often fail in human trials.

What can we do about this problem? Well, the organ-on-a-chip model is one viable alternative. These tiny devices combine a thin layer of human cells with microchips that pump blood-like fluid through them to mimic human organs. At the Wyss Institute, researchers have built a human lung-on-a-chip that exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide. The Institute is also working on chips for bone marrow, heart, and even brain tissue.

Another option for replacing animals is computer modeling. Scientists are making digital maps that simulate entire systems of the human body, down to the molecule.

Clinical trials in humans are also becoming more comprehensive by accommodating a variety of DNA differences in humans. This approach is not possible with animals. By relying on cloning human cells within animals, we have probably been screening out helpful medicines before those drugs even get to human trials, thereby creating a situation wherein these key gene differences go unaddressed.

Overall, pressure to limit the use of animals in research, either for financial, scientific or moral reasons, is rising.

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