What are the specific benefits of using animals in toxicology research?
Safe Products and Safe Medicines—Toxicology studies are crucial to the discovery and development of safe products such as new drugs, cleaning products, plastic food containers, flame-retardant infant clothing and food additives, to name a few. Toxicologists perform research in whole animals to ensure the short-term and long-term safety of such products before they are brought to market. If research on a new substance predicts significant risks to human or animal health, or to the environment, then that substance may never reach the marketplace. Alternatively, animal safety studies in combination with relevant information in humans can demonstrate that lower doses of some medicines may produce the same beneficial effects with a reduction in side effects. Products previously available only by prescription can then be released. Recent examples include medicines used to treat inflammation and stomach ulcers. We all benefit from their increased availability and lower price as well as their
