NecessarySpare4930 t1_iw3mosj wrote on November 12, 2022 at 6:28 PM

Reply to comment by Chiperoni in How do medical researchers obtain lab animals with diseases like specific forms of cancer which arise spontaneously? Do they raise thousands of apes and hope some eventually develop the disease? by userbrn1

Primates are still commonly used in preclinical trials before drugs go to market. Generally they are tested in a rodent species (usually mice) and a non-rodent species (usually dogs, pigs or monkeys.

movingmanders t1_iw4wec8 wrote on November 12, 2022 at 11:58 PM

Some things cannot be predicted in models, so these animals are often used in the preclinical trials to learn more about the potential side effects in humans. Drug developers want to make sure the drug is safe first, then they'll look into whether or not it works. If a drug makes an animal piss blood or develop seizures it probably won't make it to human trials regardless of if it works.