Alternatives to animals urged for producing antibodies
Malakoff, D.
Science 284(5412): 230
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 10232965 Document Number: 504281
A report recently issued by a National Academy of Sciences panel urges that monoclonal antibodies be produced without killing mice. The report, entitled Monoclonal Antibody Production, by the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research of the National Research Council, nonetheless argues that the use of mice is vital in some cases and should not be banned. The American Anti-Vivisection Society of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and its research wing, the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, have threatened to sue the National Institutes of Health to prevent researchers from making monoclonal antibodies by means of a technique known as the mouse ascites method. Observers believe the report could help to avoid the long-running battle progressing into a major legal fight.