The clinical impact of high-profile animal-based research reported in the UK national press: a detailed discussion of articles from 1995, and full search results from the Nexis database

Objectives: We evaluated animal-based biomedical ‘breakthroughs’ reported in the UK national press in 1995 (25 years prior to the conclusion of this study). Based on evidence of over-speculative reporting of biomedical research in other areas (e.g. press releases and scientific papers), we specifically examined animal research in the media, asking, “In a given year, what proportion of animal research ‘breakthroughs’ published in the UK national press had translated, more than 20 years later, to approved interventions?”

Methods: We searched the Nexis media database (LexisNexis.com) for animal-based biomedical reports in the UK national press. The only restrictions were that the intervention should be specific, such as a named drug, gene, biomedical pathway, to facilitate follow-up, and that there should be claims of some clinical promise. 

Main Outcome Measures: Were any interventions approved for human use? If so, when and by which agency? If not, why, and how far did development ...