Rats Taking Over from Mice in Labs

I recently fostered the sweetest little rat and I currently have two mice. Therefore, this Boston Globe article saddens me on both levels. And, of course, our old friend, Charles River Laboratories, will be a major supplier of lab rats.

Scientific advances over the last three years have now made it feasible to easily tinker with rat genes, creating the possibility of far better models of certain human diseases, and potentially shortening the time it takes to develop medications...

While both rats and mice have similarities to humans, rats win out in key areas.

Their blood system is much more similar, with a heart that beats four times faster than a person’s, instead of the mouse’s six times faster. Rat brains are far more complex than mouse brains, making them more likely to exhibit the behaviors of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and autism, among other disorders. Their liver enzymes are more similar so they metabolize drugs more like people do.

Rats are also simply larger, as are their cancerous tumors, making them easier to study and to operate on.

But these innovations won’t mean the end of the lab mouse.

“To what degree the rat will replace the mouse remains to be seen,’’ said Iva S. Morse, corporate vice president for research model services at Charles River Laboratories, a Wilmington company that started by breeding lab rats in 1947 and has become a major supplier of rodents for research.

Charles River Labs Continues Expanding

Charles River Labs, a company which develops drugs and conducts contract animal testing, has an atrocious animal rights record, although they deny it of course. They recently moved into China two years ago where they established a toxicology and drug-testing facility in Shanghai. Now, they are continuing their plans to grow into a significant drug research company by acquiring WuXi AppTec Co, a Chinese pharmaceutical contractor.

I'm not surprised Charles River wants to move into China. The USDA here may be sadly wanting in its animal welfare oversight, but it is heaven compared to the vaccuum in China. Lord only knows what horrors researchers can commit over there with no accountability.

Lots of Deaths in Animal Research Facilities

Even I didn't realize how bad it was until I read this article from the Associated Press. The spotlight is on Charles River Laboratories.

This article lists some of the universities and private corporations with violations.

Charles River Laboratories Closes a Facility

Good riddance as far as I'm concerned. Here's the brief announcement from the Boston Business Journal in its entirety.

Charles River Laboratories International Inc., which provides mice and other animals for scientific research, is suspending operations at its facility in Shrewsbury indefinitely and laying off 300 people, the Boston Business Journal reports.

CEO James Foster said consolidation in the biotechnology industry, an overall slowdown in research and budgetary constraints has led to a decrease in demand for the company's services, the BBJ reports.