Animal studies play an important and currently irreplaceable role in identifying new therapies and treatments; ensuring their safetly prior to human use. If it was not for the incredible role of animals in biomedical research, many lifesaving therapies for humans and animals would not exist today.

Specific details regarding the contributions animals have made to biomedical research are available here:

• Proud Achievements of Animal Research, by the Foundation for Biomedical Research.

• How Animals Help, by States United for Biomedical Research.

• Animal Roles in Medical Discoveries, by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Research.

• Medical Advances and Animal Research, by Understanding Animal Research and Pro-Test.

With assistance from animal-based research, scientists gather new information daily to expand biomedical knowledge, allowing them to design and test new medical interventions that improve both human and veterinary medicine.

Advances in tissue engineering and software development are providing more and more alternatives to various medical experiments. In vitro testing, using cell and tissue based models, is a very important aspect of medical research. In silico testing, or computer models, are also providing important tools for understanding biology and the mechanisms of disease. New technology is allowing scientists to use fewer animals in their experiments while still gaining the same amount of knowledge. However, animals are still needed for some studies. Unfortunately, scientists still cannot determine the full extent of how safe new medicines or medical devices are, nor how well they work, just from cells, tissues or computer simulations alone at this point in time.

As of yet, there is no complete alternative to biomedical research with animals, and laboratory animals continue to provide a great service to the advancement of medical discoveries.