The AAMC joined nearly 25 research organizations in a March 23 letter to eight members of Congress reiterating the important role of animal research to better understand and treat disease.
The research organizations sent the letter in response to a Feb. 15 letter the members of Congress sent to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting? Director Larry Tabak, DDS, PhD, seeking to restrict the use of animals in NIH-funded research. The organizational response highlighted the importance of animal models to improving the lives of patients and the appropriately strict regulations in place to ensure the ethical treatment of animals used in lifesaving research.
“Animal research remains vital to our mission to understand diseases, discover targeted therapies, alleviate suffering, and improve our quality of life. … Indeed, the success of the biomedical research community to deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, was only possible because of research using animal models including non-human primates. To remain at the forefront of pandemic preparedness and discovery for other diseases in search of a cure, animal research remains critical,” the letter stated.
“We encourage you to work with the scientific community to promote future advancements in research that enhance rather than undermine scientific innovation,” the letter concluded.