Animal Models Advance Healthcare Research
From genetic engineering and cell culture to regulations and ethics, researchers have a wide range of considerations when experimenting with animal models.
Published December 1, 2012
By Alan Dove, PhD
Academy Contributor
Since the earliest days of medical research, scientists have used model organisms to understand human biology. From ancient Greek analyses of comparative anatomy, to J.S. Haldane’s studies on decompression sickness, to the modern pharmaceutical development pipeline, animals have provided handy surrogates for measuring all types of biological phenomena.
For just as long, researchers have understood that no animal model is a perfect representation of humans. But while vivisection of prisoners may have been acceptable to Aristotle’s contemporaries, modern biomedical scientists must navigate an ethical mine field when working on animals and, especially, when working with human subjects.
At The New York Academy of Sciences (the Academy) conference on “Animal Models and Their Value in Predicting Drug Efficacy and Toxicity,” held September 15-16, 2011, researchers from around the world discussed the ways animal experiments inform—and sometimes misinform—the vast research effort that now underpins the regulation of drugs and toxic chemicals.
The meeting began with a keynote presentation by Jackie Hunter (OI Pharma Partners, Ltd.) who provided a broad overview of the problems facing researchers. While pointing out the numerous shortcomings of animal research, Hunter emphasized that such research remains at the heart of preclinical drug development and chemical toxicity testing: “We are concerned because we are not able to have models that are as predictive as we had hoped, but let’s not forget that…actually animal models have been very valuable in coming up with new medicines for a range of conditions and disorders.”
Regulations and Best Practices
After a set of concurrent workshop sessions, attendees reconvened for a joint discussion on regulations and best practices. Animal studies require careful ethical review in order to evaluate the work against a changing backdrop of rules, guidelines, and ethical norms. Research policy experts from both the U.S. and the European Union reviewed the current regulatory framework, and then an interactive panel discussion allowed audience members to share their own insights on ethical animal experimentation.
At another joint session the meeting’s focus shifted to new animal models, especially ones developed with the latest techniques in genetic engineering and cell culture. One of the most exciting developments in this area is the rapid advance in embryonic stem cell research, and the resulting potential for growing genetically engineered organs of one species inside bodies of another species. That work could lead to much more human-like laboratory models, but it also raises its own set of ethical concerns. “I think that’s an experiment that would, if it worked…potentially produce developing fetuses or…developing embryos with human tissues,” said Roger Pedersen of the University of Cambridge.
Presentations on new technologies for animal studies covered a wide range of approaches, including several talks that emphasized the potential for novel imaging and analytical techniques that could reduce the number of animals that are necessary for an experiment, while simultaneously providing higher-quality data. Other speakers talked about entirely computerized strategies that use sophisticated algorithms to simulate human biology without needing animals at all. While both approaches are clearly advancing, the talks and the subsequent panel discussion emphasized that the field is still in its infancy, and that animal models will remain an essential part of research for the foreseeable future.
Also read: Equivalence of Complex Drug Products: Scientific and Regulatory Challenges
