At a recent Indiana event, an animal rights activist filmed herself confronting Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks over his refusal to ban the forced swim test. cruel and discredited within his company. PETA releases damning video exposing David Ricks' false and misleading claims.
"Eli Lilly and Company is a world-class pharmaceutical group. The head office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States. The company was founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, pharmacist and war veteran of Secession, who died in 1898 and gave it its name.Today (December 2019) it employs 33,625 people in 143 countries.It is involved in the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, disorders of the central nervous system and endocrine, diabetes, infectious diseases, as well as diagnostic tests. Its most famous product is Prozac" Wikipedia.
At the same Eli Lilly event, as Mr Ricks spoke, several PETA supporters took the stage and addressed the audience, further encouraging the company to ban the archaic forced swim test. In the test, mice and other small animals are often dosed with a test substance and forced to swim in beakers of water to avoid drowning, allegedly to help develop drugs to treat human depression.
PETA Slams Eli Lilly's Lies About Forced Swim Test
"The principle of this test derives from its supposed relationship with a behavior of resignation which is a component of depressed mood. After an agitation phase of approximately two minutes (adaptation time), the control animal ceases to swim and freezes adopting a behavior of despair. This test is used for the selection of antidepressant molecules " Bioseb.
The forced swim test – also known as the desperation test – has been heavily criticized by scientists who argue that when mice start to float it's not a sign of depression or despair , but rather a positive indicator of learning, saving energy and adapting to a new environment.
Forced swimming test
PETA responds to each of Ricks' misleading statements about why Eli Lilly is still performing the forced swim test:
Researchers are currently using human cell-based systems, drug reuse programs and other state-of-the-art non-animal methods to develop antidepressants, but Ricks said there is no replacement for the test archaic forced swimming.
Pharmaceutical giants, such as AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson and Sage Therapeutics, have banned the test and are currently developing antidepressants, but Ricks replied that only companies that have stopped their antidepressant research have banned the test.
More than 20,000 people who use Eli Lilly's products have urged the company to ban the forced swim test, but Ricks said it "responds to the patients we serve . "
Eli Lilly has tormented 3,400 mice and rats in the forced swim test since 1993, and none of the drugs the company has attempted to develop using it are available for public use. Experts have claimed that faulty animal testing is one of the main reasons why antidepressants fail more than 90% of the time before they hit the market.
Help PETA ban this cruel and unnecessary experiment practiced by Eli Lilly by taking action today!
Sources & pictures
-PETA
Posted on 2022-05-04 10:55
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