UPDATE: "Test drugs on humans," UK's MRC chief says

The chief executive of the UK's Medical Research Council, Colin Blakemore, has called for a shift from animal to human testing of early-stage drug candidates. He argues that both R&D costs of about $1.0 billion and 10-year time-to-market for each new drug could be reduced by up to 90%. Prof Blakemore, who is due to leave the MRC, is noted for his defense of animal testing, however he argues that the present arrangements are "unsustainable."

Prof Blakemore said: "everyone recognizes that it is now time to shift gear in the effort to find new medicines. A crucial step is to move as quickly as possible from laboratory studies and animal studies into direct experiments on people and patients."

He added that over-regulation is restricting the development of new products and deterring research in some areas. The MRC chief told the Sunday Times that "I do have a worry that the regulatory process, in some areas, is going beyond the need to be sure that the correct thing is done and is delaying or discouraging research."