Cardiovascular pharmacotherapy: Innovation stuck in translation.

Systematic reviews of animal studies have revealed serious limitations in internal and external validity strongly affecting the reliability of this research. In addition inter-species differences are likely to further limit the predictive value of animal research for the efficacy and tolerability of new drugs in humans. Important changes in the research process are needed to allow efficient translation of preclinical discoveries to the clinic, including improvements in the laboratory and publication practices involving animal research and early incorporation of human proof-of-concept studies to optimize the interpretation of animal data for its predictive value for humans and the design of clinical trials.