The long path to a medicine

6. Excursion: interview with Prof. Michael Hottiger

“New medicines are inconceivable without basic research.“

Prof. Hottiger, what role does basic research play in the development of new medicines?

Basic medical research investigates the complex functions in both the healthy and the sick body. The findings obtained here ideally – but by no means always – establish the basis for new therapies. If this results in a new medicine, its development will last several years. New medicines are inconceivable today without basic research. Almost all our medicines stem from the insights obtained in basic research.

What part do animal experiments play in basic research?

Certain animal species are very similar to humans in terms of bodily functions or organ structure. Basic research exploits this similarity to understand the pathological process. The models developed in the animal can be drawn on to clarify scientific questions. Thanks to animal models we can study, describe and understand disease mechanisms that are relevant to humans without having to undertake irresponsible interventions in the human body.

Would it not be possible to use animal experiments only in applied research?

It is in the nature of basic research not to develop a medicine directly. If we confined ourselves to translational research, we would lose an important supplementary source of knowledge in the longer term. Additional insights on the functions of our body would then no longer be possible, and medical progress would find itself blocked. For this reason, it would be devastating if animal experiments were banned in basic research.

Can you illustrate this using an example from your own research?

We’re studying how inflammation occurs, how it alters the tissue or organ and how it subsides again. Our insights, for example, offer an in-depth understanding not only of bacterial infections, but also of non-bacterial, sterile inflammatory conditions, which as far as we know today play an important role inthe aging of the body or in the development of cancer, among other things. Inflammations of this kind are always associated with complex interactions between various blood cell types and the organs. This dynamic process cannot be studied in a cell culture or in organ-like microstructures. For this we need animals. Inflammation research – even if it uses cutting-edge technologies, as we do at our institute – is reliant on living organisms.

To what extent can animal experiments in basic research be replaced by alternative methods?

The principle of the 3R is of central importance. We systematically apply the principle in our research. Before I submit an application for approval by the cantonal committee for animal experiments, I give an account of the advantages and disadvantages that an animal model has and whether an animal experiment is really necessary, or whether there are alternative methods available to achieve the same level of knowledge gain.If I can do without an animal experiment, I also do so not only for animal welfare and ethical reasons, but also because it is one of the most expensive methods you can use in basic research.To satisfy animal welfare requirements as best as possible, for example, we also freeze the organs of killed animals so that we can use them again in later experiments and research. From today’s perspective, I cannot imagine that we will one day be able to avoid animal experiments completely. But by continuing to validate animal models and strictly applying the principle ofthe 3R, we can achieve further progress for animal welfare.