Abstract

Since early Greek times, animals have provided knowledge critical to understanding human anatomy, physiology, disease injuries, development of medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and much more. The questions asked and the experiments designed have changed over time; most dramatically with increased genetic and immunologic insights of the past 20 years. In research within the pharmaceutical industry animals have been important in the discovery of new medicines and treatments. In animal models, new modalities are studies for their ability to turn on or off a receptor, to understand target and off target effects, induce mechanisms of actions and other investigative questions, tied to clinical questions and trial design. Recently the translatability between preclinical (animal) and clinical (human) studies have been questioned. This paper will review why animal models are important in drug discovery using select pharmacologic models, a brief review of the importance of animals and the brutality and outcomes of vivisection, and the problems of translation and bioethical questions about the use of animals in drug research.