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  • Essay / Animal testing: ethical, unnecessary or necessary?

    In a 2006 study, six humans volunteered to receive an injection of TGN 1412 (an antibody created to dampen the immune response). Within minutes of being injected with the drug, people were in extreme agony and faced several life-threatening illnesses, including multi-organ failure. One man's head became so swollen that the case was dubbed the "Elephant Man Trial." TGN1412s were tested in several species, including the cynomolgus monkey, because they closely mimicked human mechanisms. Several monkeys were given repeated doses of the chemical and even received "500 times the dose given to human volunteers for at least four consecutive weeks, but none exhibited the adverse effects shown by humans" (Atturwala). This study proves how unreliable and dangerous animal testing is.