Computational models are decades, at the very least, away from being a replacement for animal models
There is no replacement for animal models, except trials in humans, so if the alternative is that we do more, riskier trials on humans, then I'd much prefer animal testing
Totally true, but, at the same time---
Computational models have prevented all kinds of unnecessary animal testing of things that can be shown computationally to be unlikely to work. So, computational models avoid us doing more, riskier trials on animals.
Of course, we've not reduced animal testing-- instead we've just pursued more compounds and ideas. I'd argue it's worth it for speeding up the pace of medicine. But these things are not completely orthogonal.
You only hear about the human trials that go wrong.
We still use both to weed out treatments, for both ethical and cost reasons. Better to errantly eliminate a working drug occasionally than to let a lot of unhelpful stuff through.
So sure, we use modeling, and it's getting better, but it's not going to replace toxicology studies any time soon, unless every other human system is replicated in silico first.
Are those the same things you're talking about or is there something I'm missing. I'm not that familiar with drug development.
Is there a meta analysis of such models?
Perhaps you can sell it to patients and their families first before agitating it in the public sphere.
I understand it from a purely utilitarian standpoint, but it doesn’t sit well with me ethically.
I wouldn’t want an advanced alien species to enslave and torture me at their own benefit.
I'm sure an argument to stop research in lifesaving medicine is easy to rationalize if you're in a privileged position where you don't have to deal with your children dying from malaria or being born with HIV, your elder family members slowly disappearing to Alzheimer's, or your partner's body withering away to cancer
I feel that it is ethically wrong to enslave and torture animals for humanities benefit. If that means that I will die from a disease that would have been prevented otherwise, I can accept that. I don’t feel it is right for me to impose suffering on another sentient being for my own incremental benefit.