The Sunday Times - Comment

28 August 2005

Vioxx lessons.

BRIAN DEER'S article Vioxx death toll may hit 2,000 in UK
(News, last week) revealed that Merck had evidence from
clinical trials as early as 2000 that Vioxx could damage patients'
hearts but ignored this human data in favour of studies in monkeys,
mice and rats which suggested that Vioxx protects the heart.

Estimates are 150,000 deaths and more than 400,000 non-fatal
events (mainly heart attacks and strokes) worldwide. Dr David
Graham, associate director of safety at America's Food and
Drug Administration freely admits "there's blood on the FDA's
hands as well".

Companies and governments are taking unacceptable risks
with the public's health by relying on animal tests instead of
sophisticated new techniques such as microdosing and tests
involving human DNA chips and human tissues. Human-
based tests could have prevented the Vioxx tragedy.

Patient safety organisation Europeans for Medical Progress
is calling, via "early day motion 92", for an independent
scientific evaluation of the use of animals in drug safety testing.
In light of Vioxx, this is the only responsible course of action.

Tony Benn
London W11

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,2762-1753385,00.html

Animal experiments have:
- a 63% failure rate when detecting human carcinogens
- a 75-95% failure rate for detecting drug side effects
- a 70% failure rate for detecting drugs which cause birth defects
Success rates lower than those achieved by uneducated guesswork.

This is not science!!

Recommended website: The Absurdity of vivisection
http://vivisection-absurd.org.uk/