Action Alert: Urge the FDA to Implement Nonanimal Drug Tests

Within hours of taking their first dose of an anti-inflammatory drug, six participants in a recent London drug trial were hospitalized with severe swelling and multiple organ failure. The anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx caused 150,000 heart attacks and 60,000 deaths across the country. More than 100,000 Americans die every year from reactions to legal drugs. All of these drugs had been proven to be safe and effective in several species of animals. According to the Food and Drug Administration, a staggering 90 percent of drugs that pass animal tests are found to be either harmful or not beneficial to humans. Can you help us convince the FDA to implement safer alternatives to animal testing when developing new drugs?

Write to the acting commissioner of the FDA:

Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D.
Acting Commissioner
Food and Drug Administration
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857