Why animal research?
The future of human and veterinary medicine is bright. Scientific advances are leading to the discovery of newer, better, more targeted medicines that will help treat diseases.
Novartis needs animal research to find innovative, safe and life-saving medicines for patients. Novartis would rather see the end of medical research involving animals. Unfortunately this is not possible today. There are two reasons for that:
- Often, animal studies are needed to better understand complex disease mechanisms.
- Governments and regulatory authorities require that medicines be tested in animals before they are tested in humans.
This is why we must continue with animal research as we look for new medicines for patients.
For more information and a range of views on animal research visit EFPIA'sThe European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations Animal Testing Perspectives website.
Advancing animal health
Most of the focus at Novartis is on advancing human health, but it should not be forgotten that through our Animal Health Division we also develop new medicines to improve the quality of life for companion animals as well as products to enhance the health of livestock and cultivated fish.
To find effective treatments to help our animal friends, Novartis also conducts animal research directly for their benefit. At the same time we are working to find new and better ways to deliver these treatments to animals with a minimal amount of animal research.
For example, Novartis Animal Health manufactures vaccines to protect cattle from certain diseases. These vaccines must be manufactured in batches and each new batch of vaccines must itself be tested on animals. In the past, these tests were routinely carried out separately. By combining them, however, we have been able to address regulatory demands while at the same time reducing the number of animals which were subject to testing by a factor of two.
