Anti-Infective & Vaccine Challenge Studies

Anti-Infective & Vaccine Challenge Studies

The drive to develop new prophylactic vaccines has resulted from the increase in emerging diseases, bioterrorism threats, and resistance to existing antimicrobials, as well as the increased virulence of certain viruses such as influenza. Charles River collaborates with vaccine developers by providing in vivo challenge studies and a broad portfolio of vaccine testing options.

Overview

These studies involve the deliberate infection of a healthy host to better understand the infecting pathogen and evaluate the potency and efficacy of candidate products. Ethical and safety considerations are critical, and assessments depend on the pathogen type, route of administration, and host species.

For influenza vaccine developers, Charles River offers short- and long-term influenza studies in ferrets and rodents under BSL-2 containment. Hemagglutination (HA), hemagglutination inhibition (HAI), and EID50 (embryo infectious dose) assays can be performed on study samples.

View a video of our vaccine challenge facility

Services

• Various models available, including a vaginal candidiasis rat model
• Use of individually ventilated cages (IVCs)
• In-house microbiology department
• Characterization of challenge material
• Exploratory studies with the isolate
• Evaluation of candidate antigens for bacterial challenge studies
• Viral challenge studies and adjuvant selection testing
• Short- and long-term influenza studies in ferrets and rodents

Experience

• Antibiotics
• Antifungals
• Medical Countermeasures (MCMs), including countermeasures for botulinum toxin in all seven serotypes

Submit a Sample