The pandemic has also brought to attention ethical and scientific issues about animal use in drugs and in testing in a way not seen before. Bleeding horseshoe crabs to test vaccines for endotoxins and killing sharks for their squalene has led to calls for alternative methods that do not involve harming animals.
At the Center for Contemporary Sciences (CCS), we believe in the
possibilities that good science can offer. We believe that we can improve
human health, and do it better, by replacing animal tests with innovative
testing methods. We believe that medical research and testing methods should
start and end with human biology. After all, the goal of medicine is to
improve human health. Therefore, medical science should be focused on
understanding human biology, not on the biology of a rat, a cat, a dog, or a
monkey. It seems so logical, doesn’t it?
But to transform the biomedical research enterprise, we need to unlock
ourselves from old ways of thinking. CCS’s goal is to unlock the
possibilities in medical science to create a superior research system that
today we can only just dream about. To help get there, we are officially
kicking off our Blog series!
In our blog series, we will be highlighting the outstanding innovators in
biomedical research, inviting expert voices to discuss their work, and
discussing CCS’s initiatives. And, we will be addressing timely issues that
emerge, which brings us to the topic of this first blog of 2021: The Three
Biggest Impacts the Pandemic is Having on Animal Testing.
The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping medicine, public health, and
scientific research in an unprecedented way. It has also brought
long-standing ethical, societal, and scientific concerns to public light.
For example, public misinformation about and distrust in vaccines seems to
be at an all-time high and threaten public health efforts to quell this
pandemic. Increased scrutiny on vaccine testing highlights the need for
diverse representation in clinical trials to ensure that people across age
groups, backgrounds and ethnicities are adequately represented. Ethics
discussion about equitable vaccine distribution plans have underscored the
unjust treatment of poorer countries. The pandemic has also brought to
attention ethical and scientific issues about animal use in drugs and in
testing in a way not seen before. Bleeding horseshoe crabs to test vaccines
for endotoxins and killing sharks for their squalene has led to calls for
alternative methods that do not involve harming animals. In all, the
pandemic has had three major impacts on animal testing, which I have broken
down into short-term and long-term:
1. Short-Term Impact: Unwarranted Demand for More Animals for
Experimentation
As I explain in my recent op-ed, animal experimental groups and primate
researchers have been lobbying hard to funnel more money into animal testing
and create a “monkey stockpile”. These efforts are underway even though
using animals as human “models” for decades has not led to any effective
treatment for most diseases. It doesn’t make sense to continue the same old
system when we know the system is broke.
Even more of a head-scratcher is the call by a band of monkey researchers
for more COVID-19 vaccine testing on monkeys, saying that human trials
aren’t enough. Since when did the gold-standard for human biology, i.e.,
human biology, no longer become the gold standard? (hint: when there is
funding involved).
2. Short-Term Impact: Increased Recognition of Animal Testing
Failures
Coinciding with the call by some for more animal tests, COVID-19 vaccine
developers bypassed many animal tests that have frequently been conducted in
the past for vaccines. And there is good reason for this. Animals like mice
and monkeys don’t get COVID-19 in the same way that humans do. Even for
diseases in which there is more similarity between non-human primates and
humans, such as SIV/HIV, there has been a dismal failure in vaccine
research.
Additionally, vaccines are considered biologics, which differ from conventional drugs in that they are not chemically synthesized and are instead complex mixtures made from living cells, tissues, or other building blocks of life. Biologics tend to be specific to their target. Immune systems, which vaccines target, are highly species-specific. It’s no wonder that only 6% of vaccines that are tested on animals make it to the market.
3. Long-Term Impact: Increased Call for Superior Human-Specific
Tests
Even if experimenters succeed in increasing funding toward animal use, I
predict the effect will be limited. The pandemic has highlighted the need
for testing methods that are reliable, effective, safe, and fast. Even more
pressing, this pandemic is likely just one of many more to come. Human
over-population, habitat destruction, climate change, the wildlife trade,
and intensive animal agriculture are driving our risks for more deadly
infectious diseases. The coronavirus and different strains of bird flu are
running amok on mink farms and factory farms. (If you want to know more
about how we are driving these pandemics, check out the trailer for this
upcoming documentary).
Viruses are ever-mutating and we are now facing the possibility of
vaccine-resistant COVID-19 strains. Ultimately, we will only be able to stay
ahead of viral mutations by focusing on human biological responses to the
virus and to potential vaccines and drugs. As a result, there has been a
sharp focus on how human-specific testing methods can accelerate our
understanding of viruses and pave the way for treatments.
Change is happening. Smart scientists are creating innovative tools that
will revolutionize medical science. The Center for Contemporary Sciences
will be front and center, road mapping the future of medicine.
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