Translation by Diana Taborda
An innovative technology developed by a research team from the University of Coimbra has been recognised in Europe for its contribution to the well-being of lab animals by replacing the use of forced oral administration of drugs in animal testing.
The technology, which is waiting for a patent and has been developed in the scope of the research project "HaPILLness - Voluntary oral dosing in rodents", replaces gavage, an invasive method that consists of administering drugs or other substances to animals through a tube inserted into the stomach, causing pain and stress.
The project was carried out over the last three years at the Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR) of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra (FMUC), in collaboration with the Coimbra School of Health Technology (ESTeSC/IPC), by researchers Sofia Viana (lead researcher), Flávio Reis (co-lead researcher) and Inês Preguiça (PhD student at FMUC).
The solution developed, already tested in rats and mice, the two most used lab animal models, overcomes the current limitations associated with gavage. The researchers have created semi-solid matrices (a kind of gum) capable of incorporating the drugs being tested, which the animals ingest voluntarily.
According to the project coordinator, Sofia Viana, this new technology has two major advantages. On the one hand, "it is a stress-free technology, which means that it minimises the bias of the experimental results due to the effect of stress caused in the animals. The other great advantage is the fact that it is a metabolically inert solution, i.e., it can be used in a very wide range of experiments, such as, for example, in metabolic diseases, central nervous system diseases and gastrointestinal diseases, among others".
Experiments conducted with the two animal models show the effectiveness of the technology, as the researchers report. "It works perfectly well in mice and rats. We have already tested the technology with a wide range of molecules, from oral antidiabetics to antidepressants and anti-inflammatory drugs."
The controversy surrounding animal testing is long-standing and the pressure to end its use is increasing all over the world. While it is not yet possible to completely eliminate animal testing, the scientific community is working on the development of technologies that increase animal welfare, under the principle of the three Rs: Reduction, Refinement and Replacement, provided for in European Union legislation.
The technology developed at UC falls under the umbrella of "refinement", i.e. methods that minimise animal suffering, and has been awarded the "3Rs Refinement Prize" by EPAA – The European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing. The EPAA is a partnership of stakeholders including the European Commission, health, environmental and animal welfare organisations and over thirty pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies. The mission of this international collaboration is to accelerate the development of animal refinement and welfare technologies that reduce the number of animal tests and/or replace them with validated alternative methods.
"If it's not possible to eliminate animal testing, the alternative is to adopt procedures that improve animal welfare. This leads to better quality and reproducibility of study results, which is very important. An experiment conducted under conditions that minimise animal suffering and improve animal welfare certainly leads to more reliable results with greater potential for translation to humans," highlight Sofia Viana and Flávio Reis.
They add that this technology makes it possible to carry out oral testing of active substances on animals in a "much friendlier way". It is a technology that drastically reduces the handling of the animals and even allows them to remain in a favourable social environment, living with one or more companions in the same space, without this interfering with the voluntary and accurate acceptance of matrices containing the active principles being tested".
The next phase of the research, which is part of Inês Preguiça's PhD project, is to validate the technology in disease models, "namely metabolic, degenerative (central nervous system) and gastrointestinal diseases". Thus, the team is now looking for partnerships.