ABSTRACT
The classic model for development of a human therapeutic involves initial chemical/molecular selection or design, in vitro testing, and frequently molecular optimization. The Food and Drug Administration preclinical testing for safety for eventual human trials usually requests two animal species to be evaluated (one rodent and one non-rodent). A major reason cited for the inefficiency of drug development is the relatively low power of current rodent models to predict therapeutic efficacy in humans. A review of the scientific literature demonstrates numerous examples in which successful murine studies did not predict success in humans. A widely distributed and updated volume of fascicles of Animal Models of Human Disease was published by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in 1979. Naturally occurring melanoma in dogs has continued to be studied as a complementary model for human melanoma treatment. In 2016, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine collaborated on a canine study using photodynamic therapy to treat lung cancer via bronchoscopy.
