Expanded Rodent Capacity In Edinburgh

Charles River is committed to providing our clients with high-quality, modern facilities and our Edinburgh site is delighted to announce the recent expansion of its rodent capacity. Our seven new rooms opened in April, bringing the total number of rodent rooms on site to 83. This expansion gives us the resources we need to help our clients meet their preferred study start dates and accelerated timelines.

These additional rooms have a combined area of over 200 m2 (2200 feet2) and can be used to accommodate rabbits and all standard rodent species, including mice, rats and guinea pigs. The facility itself is fully self-contained with its own laboratory space, PM suite and cage wash area.

As always, the welfare of the animals in our care is our number one priority and the environmental enrichment initiatives in these rooms include:

• Solid bottom caging system
• Group housing, where possible and practical
• Access to wooden chew sticks
• Use of cardboard tubes to provide hiding places
• Floor housing of rabbits

We have also invested in a number of mobile cabinets which offer additional flexibility in scheduling and study design. Fitted with one-piece polycarbonate doors that include a vision panel, the internal shelving is constructed in stainless steel and mesh and can be configured to accommodate a large variety of cage sizes. The systems are fitted with high-efficiency particulate arrested (HEPA) filters, affording a high level of containment for the animals, technicians and the room environment, making them ideally suited to hold recovery groups.

Preclinical studies conducted at our Edinburgh facility range from acute through to carcinogenicity and include all major regulatory species and all routes of administration. We also offer developmental and reproductive toxicology as well as juvenile studies. In addition to supporting early-phase candidate screening, we can also perform laboratory services such as metabolism and pharmacokinetics,bioanalytical support and in vitro sciences.

For additional information on our expanded facility.