At Institut Pasteur, we provide our research groups with the necessary infrastructure to use animal models in the best ethical and regulatory conditions. This infrastructure is part of the Center for Animal Resources and Research (C2RA) that also provides expertise in genetic engineering of rodents for the development of new animal models of human disease. Production of mosquitoes of the Anopheles species is also available, allowing the study of the interactions between Plasmodium, the malaria-causing parasite, and their mammalian or mosquito hosts. All our animals facilities are operated in high security containment.
Institut Pasteur is committed to ensure the welfare of animals used in research and is implementing the three Rs, the guiding principles underpinning the humane use of animals in scientific research (Consult here the Institut Pasteur position concerning the use of animals in its research programs). Experimental protocols are evaluated by an ethical committee to ensure that they are justified, that the number of used animals is kept to a minimum and that animal suffering is reduced. Moreover, alternatives to animal experiments are proposed to our scientists. For instance, an Organ-on-chip center was recently launched, in collaboration with the biotech company Emulate™, that provides Institut Pasteur research groups with novel cell-based technologies that recreate organ-level function, contributing to reduce animal usage at Institut Pasteur.
Jean Jaubert, Director of the Center for Animal Resources and Research and head of Institut Pasteur Central Animal Facility
At Institut Pasteur, we have always combined cellular and animal models as we believe it allows reaching a precise understanding of diseases and developing relevant preventive and therapeutic strategies, to the benefit of human health. We care about laboratory animals and are committed to reduce their usage through the implementation of alternative experimental models.