After proving that it worked in rats and dogs, human clinical trials in Seattle involving severely anemic kidney failure patients on dialysis led to the FDA approval of Epogen for human use. Next month, the Northwest Kidney Centers and Amgen celebrate the 10th anniversary of this achievement, which improves the quality of life and life span of these patients. The first coronary artery bypass graft surgery was performed on a dog by Dr. Lester Sauvage, founder of The Hope Heart Institute, in 1962. Dr. Sauvage also developed Dacron grafts through testing on dogs conducted in Providence Hospital's animal laboratories in the early '60s. These are but a few of the significant accomplishments of Washington's biomedical research community.
Animals benefit from animal research as well.
More than 80 medicines and vaccines developed for humans are now used to heal pets, farm animals and wildlife. As one example, animal testing by Pfizer has led to the development of Rimadyl, a medication that has treated arthritis in over 2.5 million dogs. Many pharmaceutical companies are now also creating medicines specifically for animals. Animal research has even helped preserve endangered species such as the California condor. WABR believes an informed public will want to support continued progress in medical care based on animal research.