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PETA neuroscientist Dr. Emily Trannell and psychologist Dr. Constance Carvalho published an article in a respected journal last week. Drug discovery today… The article explores the use of violent forced swim test 15 leading pharmaceutical companies in the world and shows that this decade, butanimal science experiment was not successful in determining whether a test substance will be effective in treating depression in humans.
What is a forced swim test?
In forced swimming tests, experimenters placed mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, or gerbils in unavoidable containers filled with water. Frightened animals try to escape, trying to climb the walls of glasses or even diving under the water in search of a way out. They row violently, desperately trying to keep their heads above the water. Eventually they become immobile and begin to swim.
Laboratory staff doses some of these animals with human antidepressants to see if they fight and swim longer than others before swimming. While the terrifying experience rodents have in laboratories is not at all the same as what people suffering from depression go through in real conditions, the results of the forced swim test are somehow expected to predict how drug compounds will affect the chemistry of the human brain.
The document found that no fewer than 15,238 animals were used in forced swimming experiments and 109 compounds were tested.
Of these 109 compounds, only 31 have been investigated for their potential effects on depression in humans. Out of 31 only Seven predicted a human outcome. Moreover, nobody formulations are currently approved for sale.
The situation is changing against the forced swim test
Fifteen pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, AbbVie Inc., Roche, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk A / S, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, and Bristol Myers Squibb, and two research universities banned the forced swim test after as heard from PETA Scientists.
And, following PETA UK’s call, influential scientists at the UK’s Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency concluded in a scientific article published online that the forced swim test (and similar animal tests) cannot predict the effectiveness of potential new antidepressants. In this article, the authors cite PETA’s work with pharmaceutical companies to discontinue trials.
This new article is yet another nail in the coffin of a failed forced swim test. Previous articles published by co-author Carvalho have demonstrated that medical researchers have a preference for non-animal human data over animal data.
Help animals in laboratories and People with depression
The forced swim test is bad science. It is nothing more than intimidating animals and delaying the development of new effective treatments for people who desperately need them. You can speak out in favor of the animals used in the test by calling on pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly to ban it immediately.
It only takes a minute to take action using your phone or computer, so what are you waiting for?
Start now:
Tell Eli Lilly to ban forced swim test
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