SABRE Research UK
Encyclopedia
SABRE Research UK is a British charity
raising awareness of the need to remove bias
from the conduct and scientific evaluation
of animal research. It addresses this issue by calling for systematic reviews of existing animal studies (published results of laboratory animal experiments). The charity was constituted in 2005 in response to disquiet about uninformed opinions about the scientific value of animal studies and dissatisfaction with 'polarised positions
in the debate about animal research'. The charity found that neither the proponents of animal research nor its opponents were able to produce sufficiently sound scientific evidence in support of their opposing cases.
The charity is independent from political parties
, animal research advocacy groups
, the pharmaceutical industry, animal rights groups or any other vested interests. It does not take a position on the moral, welfare or ethical use of animals in research. Its interests lie in the economic costs, the application and relevance of animal research to human health and how the results of animal experiments are analysed, evaluated and interpreted and the resulting data used to inform the design of clinical trials.
in 2004 which expressed concerns about the lack of scientific evidence to support the claims made by animal research advocates. The paper, itself a systematic review, was the first to call for systematic reviews of animal studies. It also called for the prospective registration of all animal research projects licensed by the Home Office
. The authors were concerned that animal research is not conducted, analysed and reported (published) as rigorously as clinical research, which has reporting standards such as the CONSORT
statement for randomised controlled clinical trials. These measures are considered important as they promote higher standards of research conduct through higher reporting standards.
In 2005 a report was published by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics
which called for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to be carried out in order to ‘evaluate more fully the predictability and transferability of animal models. The report concluded that 'At present, there is a relatively limited number of useful systematic reviews and meta-reviews that address the question of the scientific validity of animal experiments and tests.’ The report recommended that the programme be funded by the Home Office
in collaboration with major funders of research such as the Wellcome Trust
, the MRC
, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
, animal protection groups and industry associations such as the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
(ABPI)’.
A larger study was published in the BMJ in 2007 which drew attention to a lack of communication between animal researchers and clinical researchers and 'identified a gap in knowledge about the usefulness of the volume of animal studies that look at biological mechanisms of disease' and that 'more systematic reviews are needed for a quantitative appraisal of the concordance between animal and clinical trials.' The review reiterated earlier calls for the Home Office to undertake prospective registration of animal studies. The authors had found that the Home Office showed a lack of interest in the quality of record-keeping needed for preparing systematic reviews.
In September 2007 SABRE Research UK designed a Powerpoint presentation for the annual Festival of Science held by the British Association of Science in the United Kingdom. The presentation was given by Professor Michael B Bracken from the American Council on Science and Health
. In the lecture he urged scientists to recognize the need for systematic reviews of animal studies.
The charity states that it is generally believed by the public that animal research is only carried out providing:
However, the charity cautions that because of biases in research, these conditions are not always met. Although some animal experiments have led to important advances in medicine, researchers have uncovered uncertainties and flaws in the way that much animal research is designed and how it is approved and evaluated. In addition to these questions serious doubts have been raised about the predictive value of animal studies for human health. Professor John Ioannidis
says of pre-clinical research 'Evidence-based medicine does not seem to have penetrated basic and preclinical science, while basic and preclinical research is often performed in a clinical and methodological vacuum.’
Systematic reviews provide transparency and accountability
of research and help to advance medical research by building a more reliable evidence-base
derived from the results of the reviews. It is important that sound and rigorous evidence is cumulated and made available through research synthesis.
SABRE Research UK believes that systematic reviews of the data from existing animal studies will help to ensure that only the highest quality pre-clinical research relevant to human health will be done and made available to clinical research and research programmes. Systematic reviews are essential in protecting the health and safety of patients and research volunteers.
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
raising awareness of the need to remove bias
Bias
Bias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.-In judgement and decision making:...
from the conduct and scientific evaluation
Evaluation
Evaluation is systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone using criteria against a set of standards.Evaluation often is used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the arts, criminal justice,...
of animal research. It addresses this issue by calling for systematic reviews of existing animal studies (published results of laboratory animal experiments). The charity was constituted in 2005 in response to disquiet about uninformed opinions about the scientific value of animal studies and dissatisfaction with 'polarised positions
Attitude polarization
Attitude polarization, also known as belief polarization, is a phenomenon in which a disagreement becomes more extreme as the different parties consider evidence on the issue. It is one of the effects of confirmation bias: the tendency of people to search for and interpret evidence selectively, to...
in the debate about animal research'. The charity found that neither the proponents of animal research nor its opponents were able to produce sufficiently sound scientific evidence in support of their opposing cases.
The charity is independent from political parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
, animal research advocacy groups
Understanding Animal Research
Understanding Animal Research is a British advocacy group. It formed in late 2008 through the merger of two existing groups - the Research Defence Society and the Coalition for Medical Progress. Its main aims are to "achieve understanding and acceptance of the need for humane animal research in...
, the pharmaceutical industry, animal rights groups or any other vested interests. It does not take a position on the moral, welfare or ethical use of animals in research. Its interests lie in the economic costs, the application and relevance of animal research to human health and how the results of animal experiments are analysed, evaluated and interpreted and the resulting data used to inform the design of clinical trials.
History
The formation of the charity followed the publication of an Education and Debate paper in the BMJBMJ
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
in 2004 which expressed concerns about the lack of scientific evidence to support the claims made by animal research advocates. The paper, itself a systematic review, was the first to call for systematic reviews of animal studies. It also called for the prospective registration of all animal research projects licensed by the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. The authors were concerned that animal research is not conducted, analysed and reported (published) as rigorously as clinical research, which has reporting standards such as the CONSORT
Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials
CONSORT encompasses various initiatives developed by the CONSORT Group to alleviate the problems arising from inadequate reporting of randomized controlled trials.-The CONSORT Statement:...
statement for randomised controlled clinical trials. These measures are considered important as they promote higher standards of research conduct through higher reporting standards.
In 2005 a report was published by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Nuffield Council on Bioethics
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a UK-based independent charitable body, which examines and reports on ethical issues raised by new advances in biological and medical research...
which called for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to be carried out in order to ‘evaluate more fully the predictability and transferability of animal models. The report concluded that 'At present, there is a relatively limited number of useful systematic reviews and meta-reviews that address the question of the scientific validity of animal experiments and tests.’ The report recommended that the programme be funded by the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
in collaboration with major funders of research such as the Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
, the MRC
MRC
MRC may refer to:in government,* Medical Reserve Corps, US network of community-based units sponsored by the Office of the Surgeon General...
, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council is a UK Research Council and NDPB and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience...
, animal protection groups and industry associations such as the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry is the trade association for 150 companies in the UK producing prescription medicines for humans...
(ABPI)’.
A larger study was published in the BMJ in 2007 which drew attention to a lack of communication between animal researchers and clinical researchers and 'identified a gap in knowledge about the usefulness of the volume of animal studies that look at biological mechanisms of disease' and that 'more systematic reviews are needed for a quantitative appraisal of the concordance between animal and clinical trials.' The review reiterated earlier calls for the Home Office to undertake prospective registration of animal studies. The authors had found that the Home Office showed a lack of interest in the quality of record-keeping needed for preparing systematic reviews.
In September 2007 SABRE Research UK designed a Powerpoint presentation for the annual Festival of Science held by the British Association of Science in the United Kingdom. The presentation was given by Professor Michael B Bracken from the American Council on Science and Health
American Council on Science and Health
The American Council on Science and Health is a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan that produces peer-reviewed reports on issues related to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the environment and health...
. In the lecture he urged scientists to recognize the need for systematic reviews of animal studies.
The charity states that it is generally believed by the public that animal research is only carried out providing:
- it leads to improvements in human health
- non-animal models and technologies are unavailable
- it is not duplicated unnecessarily
- it is not done for trivial and non-medical reasons
- it cannot be conducted ethically in humans
However, the charity cautions that because of biases in research, these conditions are not always met. Although some animal experiments have led to important advances in medicine, researchers have uncovered uncertainties and flaws in the way that much animal research is designed and how it is approved and evaluated. In addition to these questions serious doubts have been raised about the predictive value of animal studies for human health. Professor John Ioannidis
John P. A. Ioannidis
John P. A. Ioannidis is a professor and chairman at the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine as well as tenured adjunct professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and Professor of Medicine and Director of the Stanford Prevention Research Center at...
says of pre-clinical research 'Evidence-based medicine does not seem to have penetrated basic and preclinical science, while basic and preclinical research is often performed in a clinical and methodological vacuum.’
SABRE's priorities for research involving animals
- Systematic reviews of existing animal studies before funding new animal research.
- Prospective registration of animal studies (to be maintained by the Home OfficeHome OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
) with adequate details recorded to inform subsequent systematic reviews.
- Adoption and implementation of the new guidelines (The ARRIVE Guidelines) on reporting animal research, by authors, journal editors, peer reviewers, and funding bodies.
- A large-scale programme of systematic reviews of existing animal studies (the published results of laboratory animal experiments) to be conducted to assess and monitor the value of animal research to the promotion of human health.
Summary
It is now increasingly widely accepted that systematic reviews of existing research are needed to assess the value of most scientific research. The results of the reviews form a body of evidence that other researchers, health economists and policy makers can use to inform further research and financial and economic decision-making.Systematic reviews provide transparency and accountability
Accountability
Accountability is a concept in ethics and governance with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving...
of research and help to advance medical research by building a more reliable evidence-base
Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine or evidence-based practice aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making. It seeks to assess the strength of evidence of the risks and benefits of treatments and diagnostic tests...
derived from the results of the reviews. It is important that sound and rigorous evidence is cumulated and made available through research synthesis.
SABRE Research UK believes that systematic reviews of the data from existing animal studies will help to ensure that only the highest quality pre-clinical research relevant to human health will be done and made available to clinical research and research programmes. Systematic reviews are essential in protecting the health and safety of patients and research volunteers.
External links
- SABRE Research UK
- Society for Research Synthesis Methodology
- Centre for Reviews and Dissemination
- Cochrane Collaboration
- James Lind Alliance
- Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM)
- CONSORT statement
- UMC St Radboud
- Public Library of Science (Open Access Journals)
- National Research Ethics Service (NRES)
- Appointing Authority for Phase 1 Ethics Committees (AAPEC)
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency (MRHA)
- Association of Research Ethics Committees (AREC)
- Cochrane Bias Methods Group
- Cochrane Statistical Methods Group
- Campbell and Cochrane Economic Methods Group
- Cochrane Methodology Review Group