First Opinion is STAT’s platform for interesting, illuminating, and provocative articles about the life sciences writ large, written by biotech insiders, health care workers, researchers, and others.

To encourage robust, good-faith discussion about issues raised in First Opinion essays, STAT publishes selected Letters to the Editor received in response to them. You can submit a Letter to the Editor here, or find the submission form at the end of any First Opinion essay.

The story

“The end to animal testing marks the beginning of better biomedicine,” by Ellen P. Carlin and Jason Paragas

The response

Animal models have long provided answers to the most pressing biomedical questions, from the development of the polio vaccine to more recent Nobel Prize-winning discoveries in cancer treatment. “The end to animal testing marks the beginning of better biomedicine” presents a false dichotomy, arguing that novel cell- and computer-based methods are and should be a replacement for animal models in biomedical research. This argument ignores the reality that medical research relies on both animal models and newer technologies.

I am a practicing veterinarian and biomedical researcher in the field of pediatrics who uses both animal and cell models to answer questions about diseases that impact preterm babies..