果冻影院

果冻影院 and nine other institutions together conducted over half of all animal procedures 鈥� those used in medical, veterinary, and scientific research 鈥� in the UK in 2023.

The statistics are freely available on 果冻影院鈥檚 animal research website as part of our joint commitments to transparency and openness around the use of animals in research.

This list coincides with the publication of the Home Office鈥檚 report on the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2023.

These ten organisations carried out 1,435,009 procedures, 54% of the 2,681,686 procedures carried out on animals for scientific research in Great Britain in 2023. Of these 1,435,009 procedures, more than 99% were carried out on mice, fish and rats and 82% were classified as causing a similar level of pain, or less, as an injection.

The ten organisations are listed below alongside the total number of procedures they carried out in 2023. This is the ninth consecutive year that organisations have come together to publicise their collective statistics and examples of their research.

All these organisations, along with an additional 59 organisations that have also published their 2023 statistics, are committed to the 鈥�3Rs鈥� of replacement, reduction and refinement. This means avoiding or replacing the use of animals where possible; minimising the number of animals used per experiment and optimising the experience of the animals to improve animal welfare. However, as institutions expand and conduct more research, the total number of animals used can rise even if fewer animals are used per study.

Professor Geraint Rees, 果冻影院 Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement),聽said: 鈥淥ur world-leading biomedical scientists at 果冻影院 rely on a growing range of methods to carry out our groundbreaking research tackling global challenges, improving people鈥檚 health and wellbeing, and saving lives. Animal research remains a vital research tool which our scientists carry out only when strictly necessary, while upholding the highest standards of animal welfare. Our researchers strive to devise ways to replace animals in research, reduce their usage, or refine their methods to mitigate harm, without detracting from the high quality and impact of the research.鈥�

All organisations listed are signatories to the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, a commitment to be more open about the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the UK. More than 125 organisations have signed the Concordat including UK universities, medical research charities, research funders, learned societies and commercial research organisations.

Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which developed the Concordat on Openness, said: 鈥淎nimal research remains a small but vital part of the quest for new medicines, vaccines and treatments for humans and animals. Alternative methods are gradually being phased in, but, until we have sufficient reliable alternatives available, it is important that organisations that use animals in research maintain the public鈥檚 trust in them. By providing this level of information about the numbers of animals used, and the experience of those animals, as well as details of the medical breakthroughs that derive from this research, these Concordat signatories are helping the public to make up their own minds about how they feel about the use of animals in scientific research in Great Britain.鈥澛�

Case study: New immunotherapy could treat cancer in the bone

A new type of immunotherapy, developed by 果冻影院 researchers, has shown promising preclinical results against a bone cancer called osteosarcoma, as part of a study in mice.

Cancer that starts in or spreads to the bones is particularly hard to treat and is a leading cause of cancer-related death. It is also frequently resistant to chemotherapy, so new treatments are needed.

The results of the experiment, published in聽Science Translational Medicine, found that using a small subset of immune cells, called gamma-delta T cells (gdT cells) could provide an efficient and cost-effective solution.

gdT cells are a less well-known type of immune cell that can be made from healthy donor immune cells. They have strong innate anti-cancer properties, can kill antibody labelled targets and can safely be given from one person to another, without the risk of graft-versus-host disease.

In order to manufacture the cells, blood is taken from a healthy donor. The聽gdT cells are then engineered to release tumour targeting antibodies and immune stimulating chemicals, before being injected into the patient with cancer in the bone. This new treatment delivery platform is called OPS-gdT.

The research team, led by 果冻影院 Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health scientists, tested the treatment on mouse models with bone cancer and found that OPS-gdT cells outperformed conventional immunotherapy when controlling osteosarcoma growth.

In a series of experiments, researchers injected the mice with different combinations of聽gdT cells that hadn鈥檛 been engineered at all, an anti-tumour antibody, OPS-gdT cells alongside a bone sensitising drug, and CAR T-cells (another type of immunotherapy using genetically modified immune cells).

They found that the OPS-gdT cells were most effective when partnered with the bone sensitising drug 鈥� which has previously been used on its own to strengthen weak bones in patients with cancer. This treatment prevented the tumours from growing in the mice that received it 鈥� leaving them healthy three months later.

The researchers are hopeful that their treatment could not only work in treating osteosarcoma, but some other cancers as well, and they plan to move towards an early phase clinical trial in patients with secondary cancers within the next couple of years.

Links

• 果冻影院 Animal Research website
• Detailed facts & figures of animal research at 果冻影院
• News story: New immunotherapy could treat cancer in the bone

Image

• Zebrafish聽at 果冻影院

Media contact

Chris Lane

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E: chris.lane聽[at] ucl.ac.uk