Animal models used in the global effort to find a treatment for COVID-19 must be valid – and they must be used and reported consistently. Society President-Elect Professor Clive Page and colleagues, publishing in the British Journal of Pharmacology, have suggested ways in which animal models can be adapted for use in research of COVID-19. The Society endorses these recommendations and calls for the research and drug discovery community to work together to agree guidelines for COVID-19 animal models. These guidelines should include:
- Incorporation of known risk factors
- The right model at the right time
- Inoculation protocols
- Monitoring disease time course
- Disease-relevant endpoints.
- Safety of laboratory researchers and technicians.
You can
read our current position in full here.
We are regularly monitoring this situation and our positions may evolve with our understanding of COVID-19 and the international response.
For all over work in the area, please visit the Society’s
COVID-19 hub.