Concordat update and the Openness Awards

Understanding Animal Research (UAR) has published its second annual report on the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK. The 2016 report summarizes the progress of 95 signatory organizations towards the commitments to openness and transparency agreed upon when the Concordat was signed in May 2014 as well as improvements made (and those still underway) as a result of 2015 recommendations. The report also discusses barriers to openness faced by signatories.

UAR also recognized examples of best practices and original efforts to improve how animal research is communicated in the UK at the third annual Openness Awards, held at the beginning of December. The Institute of Animal Technology received the Internal or Sector Engagement Award for their Careers Pathway initiative for animal technologists. Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute received the Public Engagement Activity Award for its open museum event about its cancer research. For its work with the tabloid newspaper The Sun, The University of Leicester received the Media Engagement Award. The University of Manchester received the Website Award for its new website detailing its animal research. And Andy Gay received the Individual Award for Outstanding Contribution to Openness in Animal Research for his efforts encouraging journalists to engage with animal research.

AbbVie cancer agreements

AbbVie, a research-based pharmaceutical company spun off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, has announced two new five-year cancer research collaboration agreements, one with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a second with the the Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern University. In addition to promoting communication and collaborations, physicians and researchers at Johns Hopkins and Northwestern will be able to take advantage of AbbVie therapies for use in preclinical research funded by the collaboration while AbbVie will have the option to license certain discoveries made under the agreements.

A joint steering committee will decide on future research projects, which may include work with lung, colorectal, breast, prostate, and hematological cancers. An annual symposium will be held to report on the collaborations' research efforts and upcoming work.

Earlier in 2016, a similar five-year collaboration was also announced with the University of Chicago; in December, the steering committee of that collaboration announced the selection of their initial projects, which will include immunotherapy research and the testing of combination treatments for several different types of cancer.

Alpha Genesis expansion in SC

Alpha Genesis, Inc., a nonhuman primate breeding and research services provider, has plans for a $2 million expansion of its Yemassee, SC, headquarters. In addition to renovating more than 50,000 square feet of its facilities for primate housing and breeding, clinical care, and research, the company anticipates adding up to 30 new jobs by the end of 2017. Alpha Genesis President and CEO Greg Westergaard commented, “Customers need superior services and require that more complex tasks be completed in faster time frames. These upgrades and the new talent we'll be bringing in will allow us to better meet these demands.”

SoBran services in Boston

SoBran BioScience has announced a new service contract to provide preclinical biomedical research support to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA. The company will provide animal care and husbandry as well as veterinary medical support, help monitor IACUC-approved research protocols, and assist with technical support and research staff training. Brigham and Women's Hospital is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare, the largest provider in Massachusetts.

Careers update

Dr. James Godwin is bringing the axolotl to Bar Harbor, ME, where he will hold a dual appointment at the MDI Biological Laboratory and the Jackson Laboratory to study the molecular mechanisms of tissue regeneration in salamander and mouse models. Godwin remarked, “Comparative biology is very important to the advancement of regenerative medicine. The axolotl is a fantastic model because its limb is more complex than the appendages of other regenerative species—with similar patterning to a human limb. We can use the axolotl as a discovery tool to identify molecules and genetic pathways that are not activated in mammals like the mouse, then apply that knowledge to humans.”

Previously, Godwin was a research fellow at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, which partners with the MDI Biological Laboratory to promote regeneration research, including the use of extreme models like the axolotl. Godwin received his PhD in immunology from the University of Melbourne, followed by a five-year fellowship studying salamander regeneration at University College London.