Research using animals

Lately in Singapore, a national facility to provide large animals such as monkeys and pigs to research groups has been given the thumbs up, following an extensive feasibility study. We needed that as this  move will help speed up the development of new drugs and treatments, and take Singapore's biomedical capabilities up a notch.

Large animals are needed for such work because a compound that looks like a successful drug in the petri-dish or on a mouse might not work as well in larger creatures and humans. E.g. Before clinical trials on people, research on vaccines and diseases including glaucoma, myopia and HIV infection is carried out on monkeys such as macaques, which are genetically similar to humans.

Pigs, with their physiology and anatomy relatively similar to humans, are used to test new drugs and medical devices such as artificial knee joints and dental implants, and for surgical training. Generally, rats, mice and fish are used in experiments, although rabbits, dogs, pigs and monkeys are also used in some. Most are euthanised at the end of a trial.

But scientists say that while they continue to develop alternatives to animal testing, in many cases it is still impossible for a computer or test tube to substitute a complex biological system when studying a disease, vaccine or drug for efficacy and side effects. "Monkeys are more similar to us than mice, and pigs are closer in size. Sometimes, it's a necessary evil and there's no way around it."

“Such a facility will enhance Singapore's overall capability in translating discoveries to the clinic .  It will increase our strength in pre-clinical research such as drug discovery, drug development, testing of biomarkers and medical technology, prior to first-in-man studies”  said Professor Wong Tien Yin, group director of research at SingHealth , who is also executive director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute.

But research using animals has long been condemned by animal welfare groups. Thank goodness this is spore, we are probably more practical.....hahha... do we even have such groups active here?