Cross-Comparison Of Biomarker Assay Performance In Nonhuman Primates

By Catherine Schilffarth, Surafel Damena, Lucerito Mendoza, Robin Pryor, Moumita Dutta, Ryan Karkas, James Peck, Kaylyn Gray, Brandon Purdy, RobinThorson, Mia Boggeri, Lauren Johnson, Skylar Brown, Antoni Celori, and Pierre Jolicoeur

Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, Cambodian-bred cynomolgus non-human primates (NHPs) have become the primary choice for preclinical research among pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations in the United States and Europe, largely due to the availability of animals from large breeding facilities. Prior to the pandemic, China was the main supplier of cynomolgus NHPs, but since then, no exports from China have been available. In November 2022, imports of Cambodian cynomolgus NHPs were also halted, further exacerbating the shortage.

In response to this ongoing issue, Altasciences explored alternative strains, including Philippine and Mauritius cynomolgus NHPs, to assess their suitability for use in preclinical studies. This presentation provides a comparison of the standard panels, such as cytokines and complements, that are typically evaluated in toxicological studies to determine the viability of these alternative strains.