The League of League of European Research Universities LERU have published recommendations for good practice in communicating animal research at universities: Putting emphasis on an open and transparent approach. In response to this call, the IMI ConcePTION project have worked to build the consortium ‘s capacity to communicate about animal data: Building a foundation of knowledge about animal data and animal welfare in the consortium.
The IMI ConcePTION project is building an ecosystem for medicine safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding. To reduce uncertainty about the effects of medication use during breastfeeding. Our model uses a combination of in silico, in vitro and in vivo studies, comparing the data from computer models, cell lines and animals against data from our milk biobank studies, which allows us to partially replace animals. However, to build a non-clinical platform that allows fast and reliable predictions on how a substance transfers to human breast milk, we need data from an animal model using pigs (commercial and minipigs) where the physiology of lactation is similar to humans, with an added requirement: we needed an animal that can be milked.
Animal models is one part of the platform for lactation studies, which in turn is part of the ConcePTION ecosystem, where all parts should have the same level of visibility. The commitment to transparency requires being proactive in relation to animal data, educating the consortium, and developing strategy for how to present the infrastructures for lactation studies and explain how we work to reduce, refine and replace.
In addition, we work to:
- Contextualise results by explaining the role animal data plays in the ConcePTION platform for lactation studies.
- Frame communications with the need to bridge the knowledge gap for medicine safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
- Develop routines in case of negative publicity include plan for in vivo studies, with contact information.
- Carefully consider timing of publicity for results that include animal data, and sentiment monitoring for publicity in project channels.
The LERU note on good practice in communicating animal research at universities puts emphasis on transparency. In a large research consortium, that includes transparency inside the project, building a foundation of knowledge about the lactation studies and capacity on all levels to communicate about the role that animal data plays. Researchers from the University of Bologna, who are responsible for conducting the animal studies, raised the question about how to communicate about animal data. Building on the good practice proposed by LERU, the team that is developing the platform for lactation studies organised a webinar for the entire consortium, presenting the work stream, explaining the role of animal data in lactation studies, why pigs were chosen as a model, how they are kept, trained and studied. The programme was developed with the 3R approach in mind, with added focus on a fourth R: responsibility.
Today, this work is presented at the FELASA congress in Marseille, this year dedicated to topics on communication. The congress is organised by Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations, FELASA and the poster is presented by Albert Elmi from the University of Bologna.
The webinar started with the screening of a video abstract about a comprehensive review of the non-clinical methods that can be used to study how a medicine transfers to breast milk by Nina Nauwelarts et. al., explaining the different elements of the ConcePTION platform. Placing the animal studies in context.
What: Poster presentation
Where: FELASA2022, Marseille
When: 13 June 2022, 16:07 CEST
Poster title: Medicine safety in breastfeeding: Communicating about animal data in a large European research consortium
Authors: Josepine Fernow, Uppsala University; Alberto Elmi, University of Bologna; Michele Bouisset-Léonard, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research; Ida Niklson, I.D.D.A. Pharma Consulting GmbH; & Serban Morosan, Sorbonne University Paris & Iasi University of Life Sciences