Adult humans who have given informed consent would probably be preferable to potatoes. In most cases, at least.
It would be interesting if every citizen was required to act as a research subject every year, to more equitably distribute human testing.
But of course most people would freak out if such a requirement was ever seriously floated, as they want drugs tested on others not on them, so it would never happen.
if human beings determine a need, then we should pay the price for their development. not force that onto “lesser” species.