Two locally based scientists, Mitchell Klausner and John Pawlowski, M.D., are featured in a new docuseries from executive producer Bill Maher. The Failed Experiment pulls back the curtain on the multibillion-dollar animal experimentation industry in the U.S. and explores why there are so few cures and effective treatments for the deadliest diseases—including Alzheimer’s, many forms of cancer, Parkinson’s, and ALS. The series starts streaming on January 9. Available on Prime Video.

Klausner and Pawlowski have developed cutting-edge animal-free testing methods. In the docuseries, Klausner, previously the president of Ashland-based MatTek Corporation, discusses the company’s innovative human tissue models—including EpiDerm, a three-dimensional model formed from human skin cells that prevents harsh chemicals from being rubbed on tens of thousands of rabbits’ sensitive skin each year. Pawlowski, codirector of the Shapiro Simulation and Skills Center at the Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, pioneered the development and use of human simulators to replace the use of animals in medical training.

Each of the six brief but riveting episodes reveals how the country’s heavy reliance on archaic experiments on animals is causing the U.S. to lose its place as the world leader in research and technological advances and explores what this means for humans waiting for cures as well as for animals.

“We’ve all lost loved ones to diseases, but did you ever wonder why there are so few cures?” asks Maher. “The Failed Experiment dismantles America’s archaic research program and exposes the bias that is preventing progress.”

Credit: PETA

Every year, 110 million animals die in U.S. laboratories, but studies show that 95% of all new medications that test safe and effective in animals later fail in human clinical trials. PETA scientists’ Research Modernization Deal provides a comprehensive strategy for replacing such experiments with superior methods.

For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.