Americans For Medical Advancement
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Americans For Medical Advancement (AFMA) is a 501(c)(3) science-based patient advocacy organization dedicated to improving policy and decision-making regarding the use of the animalmodel in biomedical research and drug testing. They oppose the use of animals only as models for predicting human response. For example ADMET, efficacy testing, and medical research where results from animal-based research is assumed predictive for humans. Scientifically, such uses are known as using animals as causal analogical models.
They want to see drugs come to market faster, safer and cheaper and want to see medical research funding directed to more relevant areas of research. As such they recommend: 1. eliminating the FDA and EPA requirements for animal testing, as they cost money, slow drugs to market, are simply ineffective, and prevent good drugs from coming to market; 2. that granting bodies like the NIH stop encouraging “animal models of…” research, as this approach assumes animals are causal analogical models and is therefore inconsistent with current scientific knowledge.
Equally important, in their opinion is the fact that animals can be successfully used in many other areas of science such as basic science research. They are in favor of such use. This distinction separates them from the animal protection groups. Most organizations that oppose testing on animals do so on ethical grounds related to the suffering of animals. AFMA has a unique mission in illustrating the lack of validity in the animal model in drug testing and animal-based research for human disease. Although some supporters may be pro-animal, most are not. The unifying factor for their supporters is their understanding that the animal model is not valid for predicting drug response and other features of human disease. The stakeholders in this debate are: patients, current and future; their family and friends; the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech industries; shareholders in the aforementioned industries; taxpayers; health insurance companies; consumers and society at large. AFMA claims that animal models harm rather than help human health and divert money away from more useful forms of research: "Animal-modeled biomedical research yields results that cannot be safely applied to humans. It diverts research dollars that should be going to proven methods of curing human disease."
Dr. Ray Greek is president of AFMA, as well as Europeans For Medical Advancement (Europeans for Medical Progress is a separate and distinct group which Dr Greek does not support) and Japanese For Medical Advancement. He is science advisor to the National Anti-Vivisection Society (Chicago, IL), and is husband of co-founder Jean Swingle Greek, a veterinarian who is also active in many of these groups.
Critics of the group, such as the similarly-named Americans for Medical Progress, dismiss it as a shell organization that "exists primarily as a website to publicize the views and promote the book" of founders Ray and Jean Greek, and assert that it ignores the significant medical advances made through animal-based research. [1] AFMA contends their website and books contain thousands of references to the scientific literature which supports their position.
The arguments used by Americans For Medical Advancement are similar to those used by Europeans for Medical Progress but the 2 groups also differ in areas. Some aspects of the arguments have been deemed inaccurate and misleading according to a ruling [2] of the Advertising Standards Authority - an independent watchdog making sure all advertising meets the standards laid down in UK advertising codes. This group however has no official role in setting standards and Dr Greek answered their criticisms without receiving a reply from them.
AFMA strongly recommends that people study all sides of the issue before deciding whether animal models are scientifically tenable.
