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To the Editor: We dispute the underlying assumption in the Medical News & Perspectives article¹ about animal experimentation.

Those who tout the supposed benefits from animal experimentation often have a vested interest in the "product," not unlike the tobacco companies, which for many years extolled the health benefits of smoking. Many setbacks to progress and harm to humans have resulted from experiments on animals, including the following:

1. Experiments on animals delayed the acceptance of cyclosporine. Researchers stated, "The immunosuppressive effects of cyclosporine have . . . differed considerably between species, limiting any direct inference that may be made regarding use in human organ transplantation."²
   
2. FK-506, now called tacrolimus, is another antirejection agent that was almost shelved before proceeding to clinical trials. Researchers stated, "Animal toxicity was too severe to proceed to clinical trial."³
   
3. Animal experiments suggested that corticosteroids would be beneficial to patients with septic shock.⁴ Unfortunately, humans reacted differently; . . . [Full Text of this Article]