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Supporting PSCI Initiatives for Sustainably Sourcing Horseshoe Crabs
Charles River joins consortium to reinforce commitment towards sustainable endotoxin testing
In 2021, we joined the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI), an industry group comprised of companies that manufacture medical products or provide materials/scientific research to the pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical device industries.
As a part of our commitment to sustainable practices, we have proudly signed onto PSCI’s position paper, The Use of Horseshoe Crabs in the Pharmaceutical Sector, which encourages members to:
- protect endangered species of horseshoe crabs, including Tachypleus gigas and Tachypleus tridentatus,
- explore appropriate alternatives when possible, and
- take an active and intentional approach to sourcing horseshoe crab-derived Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) from responsible sources.
As a responsible member of the biopharmaceutical supply chain that provides LAL, a critical component to endotoxin tests that ensure the safety of patients across the globe, we’ve been a vocal proponent of conservation-minded principles. LAL, which is derived from the blood of horseshoe crabs, has been the gold standard in medical testing for 40 years. It is used to ensure that essentially every biopharmaceutical product that interacts with human tissue and fluid is free of bacterial endotoxins, including injectable drugs and medical devices, and even medical staples like syringes, IV lines, and surgical scalpels.
Keeping pace in an industry focused on revolutionizing science and innovation, we’ve evolved and refined the next addition to our bacterial endotoxin detection portfolio with Endosafe® Trillium®, a robust, recombinant cascade reagent (rCR) assay. Across our portfolio of endotoxin testing, we are dedicated to balancing the industry’s need for safe endotoxin testing with preserving a sustainable horseshoe crab population.
While Endosafe Trillium offers an animal-free endotoxin testing option, we continue our mission to reduce reliance on the necessary horseshoe crab by refining science and formulations of our FDA-licensed LAL cartridge technology, which uses 95% less of the raw material needed to perform the assay.
A Sustainable LAL: Endosafe Cartridge Technology
Our innovative FDA-licensed Endosafe LAL cartridges utilizes 95% less of the raw material from the horseshoe crab compared to traditional LAL methods.
View Sustainable Methods
We will continue to partner with both the biopharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies, to ensure that we are protecting patients, while conserving a sustainable horseshoe crab population. We will also partner with our clients to support the right sustainable method for their endotoxin testing program.