Description
Antibodies development and production: do we still need animals?Antibodies are binding molecules (affinity reagents) that have a high specificity for their unique target (antigen). They are essential, not only for our immune system to identify and neutralize bacteria and viruses, but they have important applications in diagnostics, medical use, disease therapy, prenatal therapy, regulatory procedures and not to forget they are an important research tool.
The generation of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies is still today often done in animals using the in vivo (ascites) production method, which is a painful and stressful technique for experimental animals. Recent EU statistical information on the use of animals for scientific purposes even shows an increase by 65% in the use of animals for monoclonal antibody production by the mouse ascites method between 2015 (27333 animals used) and 2017 (45024 animals used).
As a number of scientifically sound animal-free techniques became available for the development and production of antibodies, questions are posed about ethics, feasibility, scientific background, economics, etc. Recently, the discussion around this topic peaked when recommendations on the use of non-animal-derived antibodies were published by EURL ECVAM*. Indeed, Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes does not allow the use of animal-based methods when alternative methods that do not need animal use become available.
In the discussion, a clear difference should be made between monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal antibodies. During the 6th IC-3Rs Symposium, pros and cons will be discussed by two international experts in the field, Prof Stefan Dübel and Prof Gilbert Schönfelder.
| Period | 21 Sept 2022 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Brussels, BelgiumShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |