According to media reports this week in Le Figaro and The Guardian, dogs had died in tests for the drug which left one person dead and others with suspected brain damage in France last month. 

We are calling for full disclosure of the facts surrounding the clinical study conducted by Biotrial following these shocking claims.  But the company is so far refusing to release more details "because of industrial secrecy".

Reports of dogs dying in the pre-clinical trials follow worrying claims by the French Health Minister that chimpanzees were also used in tests for the drug.

Last month, our latest scientific paper found damning results for the scientific value of using animals in tests for human drugs. Our scientists found that animal testing of human drugs is not fit-for-purpose.

Michelle Thew, Chief Executive of Cruelty Free International said, "The latest developments in the French drug disaster show the dangers of animal research conducted in secret. Commercial considerations should not stand in the way of full disclosure of the failure of animal testing to predict the impact on humans."

“The public needs to know what happened to the animals used in testing and what steps are being taken so that this terrible tragedy can never happen again.  We call on governments, regulators and the pharmaceutical industry to recognise the failure of animal research and to embrace humane and human-relevant methods for developing drugs."

Find out more about our campaign to end the use of dogs in experiments.