The Triumph of Animal Testing

There are a lot of loons around who want to end the testing of new pharmaceuticals and medical technologies on animals. Below is an excerpt from Americans for Medical Progress that neatly sums up why such testing is preserving lives:

"Today’s announcement regarding the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine underscores the importance of laboratory animals in health research. Americans for Medical Progress congratulates Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans, and Oliver Smithies as they are honored by the Karolinska Institute for their animal-based research that pioneered gene targeting, technology now being used to develop treatments and cures for countless serious ailments.

“The Nobel Assembly's announcement stands in bold counterpoint to the dangerous agenda of animal rights leaders who are actively lobbying to stop scientists from conducting animal studies in disease research," said Jacquie Calnan, president of Americans for Medical Progress, a nonprofit organization that stands in support of biomedical research. “An end to animal-based research would be a critical blow to the health and well-being of people, pets, livestock and wildlife.”

Ms. Calnan noted that the three scientists who share this year’s Nobel Prize created the toolkit by which scientists are able to use mice to study heart disease, cancer, cystic fibrosis, hypertension and many other diseases. Already, several treatments have been developed and many more medicines are in the pipeline.

The citation by the Nobel Assembly stated: “Gene targeting has pervaded all fields of biomedicine. Its impact on the understanding of gene function and its benefits to mankind will continue to increase over many years to come.”

Well over two-thirds of the Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded for research that has relied, at least in part, on animal studies. A survey of living Nobel laureates conducted to commemorate the centenary of Alfred Nobel’s death found virtually unanimous agreement that animal research remains necessary if new treatments and cures are to be developed."

Know someone who beat cancer? Thank a mouse!