Charles River creates advisory board for alternative testing methods

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL) announced the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board to guide its strategy on New Approach Methodologies, which are non-clinical tools designed to enhance safety and efficacy testing while reducing reliance on animal testing.

Dr. Namandjé N. Bumpus will lead the global, cross-functional board. Bumpus previously served as Chief Scientist and Principal Deputy Commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration until December 2024. Before joining the FDA, she was a Professor and Director of the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The board will focus on embedding alternative testing technologies across therapeutic, preventive, and chemical substances. These include in vitro models such as human cell-based assays and organ-on-a-chip systems, in silico techniques including computational toxicology and machine learning-based predictive modeling, and in chemico methods such as direct peptide reactivity assays.

"Our industry is at an inflection point where science and technology are intersecting to accelerate the pace of drug discovery and development," said Birgit Girshick, Corporate Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Charles River.

Charles River has implemented various alternative methodologies in its programs, including Endosafe Trillium, a recombinant bacterial endotoxin test that reduces reliance on horseshoe crab-derived materials, and Virtual Control Groups that leverage historical control data to potentially reduce animals used in safety studies.

The company also uses Next-Generation Sequencing as an animal-free alternative for pathogen testing and Logica, an integrated tool that combines artificial intelligence with traditional bench science for discovery and development optimization.

The information is based on a company press release statement.

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