Letter to the editor: Time to end mandate on live animal research

It’s crunch time for Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey to co-sponsor a bill that is revolutionary for both humans and animals, and that has a real chance of passing if they lend their support before the end of September.

The FDA Modernization Act would remove a mandate that says all new drug research has to use live animals. Today we are using 59,000 dogs (mostly beagles because they are sweet and docile), as well as primates and other species every year to test new medicines.

If the FDA Modernization Act passes, researchers would be released from ties binding them to a 1938 — yes, you read that right — mandate and given a discretionary choice to utilize modern technology.

Today, we possess animal-free, modern tools to test new pharmaceuticals, including human cell-based platforms that are far superior in proving which medicines are safe (or deadly) for our loved ones.

Evidence continues to show animal models lack sensitivity and specificity and fail to predict toxic responses in human bodies at a remarkable 90% to 95% of the time, according to the National Institutes of Health.

This legislation is supported by dozens of medical and patient advocacy groups and is estimated to save billions of dollars in drug production and consumer costs while speeding up the critical delivery of much-needed medicine

Contact Toomey and Casey and tell them to co-sponsor the FDA Modernization Act now, because 84 years of waiting for an update is long enough.

Natalie Ahwesh

South Side

The writer is director of grassroots advocacy for Animal Wellness Action.