Animals for testing the safety of products Research Paper

Animals for testing the safety of products - Research Paper Example An example of Merck, otherwise known as MSD in areas other than USA and Canada, which is a healthcare company known for its research-driven work in pharmaceuticals. Merck came up with a painkiller known as Vioxx and had it approved by the Food and Drugs Administration (F.D.A) basing their approval on clinical trials carried out on animals that indicated the drug was safe. This was despite the fact that previous trials had shown that the drug increased the possibility of heart ailments. The drug was intended for painful menstrual cramps, acute pain and osteoarthritis and in the five year period that it was available, it was responsible for 88,000 to 139,000 heart attacks. This was later explained by the fact that common conditions affecting humans such as diabetes, hypertension and heart ailments are not common with animals. What researchers such as Merck do is simulate these conditions in animals ("Animal Testing Not Reliable† 19).   Opponents of product testing on animals ha ve raised issue with the fact that there are alternatives to animals for the purposes of testing and experimentations. For example, in vitro models that are available commercially and can be reconstructed in three-dimension have been identified as being alternative to animals for toxicology tests in biomedical research. These models are adoptable where tests are carried out to find out the safety of drugs on human organs especially since three-dimension models make it possible to have internal organ models.... This was despite the fact that previous trials had shown that the drug increased the possibility of heart ailments. The drug was intended for painful menstrual cramps, acute pain and osteoarthritis and in the five year period that it was available, it was responsible for 88,000 to 139,000 heart attacks. This was later explained by the fact that common conditions affecting humans such as diabetes, hypertension and heart ailments are not common with animals. What researchers such as Merck do is simulate these conditions in animals ("Animal Testing Not Reliable† 19). Opponents of product testing on animals have raised issue with the fact that there are alternatives to animals for the purposes of testing and experimentations. For example, in vitro models that are available commercially and can be reconstructed in three-dimension have been identified as being alternative to animals for toxicology tests in biomedical research. These models are adoptable where tests are carried out to find out the safety of drugs on human organs especially since three-dimension models make it possible to have internal organ models (Liebsch et al 842-843). There are in vitro tests as well that can be used in place of the Draize test used to measure irritability where one of these tests is applicable to a number of toiletries and cosmetics where the test product is put in with a synthetic fusion that replicates the human eye specifically the living cornea. Following a matching of color gradations, potential irritability is scored and this signifies molecular effects on the tissue (Beatrice 28). Additionally, the deontological view holds that animal interests similar to human interests are not subject to moral weighing.