In the Press

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) /National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) awarded Biomedical Research Models, Inc. $594,141 for a Small Business Innovation Research Program

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) /National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) awarded Biomedical Research Models, Inc. $594,141 for a Small Business Innovation Research Program- project title: New Rat Model for Autoimmune Therapy Safety/Efficacy. The principal investigator is Barbara J. Whalen, Ph.D. and the project runs for two years.

Autoimmune diseases comprise the third most common category of illness in the United States affecting an estimated 22 million Americans. To date, therapeutic and preventive strategies for human autoimmune diseases (based on the restoration of immune tolerance) have been largely disappointing.

Experimental animal models greatly facilitate the study of the pathogenesis and complications of autoimmune disease. They permit the evaluation of treatment protocols that pose ethical issues and safety risks in humans. They provide populations of genetically identical subjects that can be maintained under controlled environmental conditions. With them, new pharmaceutical agents, dietary regimens etc. can be tested to determine therapeutic benefit while detecting potential toxicity and unanticipated worsening of disease prior to human application. Preclinical testing of new agents and diets therefore represents a multimillion-dollar commercial market that would embrace a new, well-characterized rat model of multiple autoimmune diseases including, especially, T1D and rheumatoid arthritis. Funding will enhance the drug-platform-testing utility and commercial value of the LEW.1WR1 rat model of autoimmune diseases.