Understanding Contract Vivaria: An Interview with Mispro

Not every biotech company has the ability to build an in-house vivarium that can support their animal study needs. While some may choose to use a contract research organization (CRO), a contract vivarium (CV) provides a distinct alternative. I interviewed John Fogarty, Director of Marketing at Mispro, to learn more about this option.

Mispro is an AAALAC-accredited contract vivarium organization (CVO) with 19 locations across the country, including a newly-opened facility in Palo Alto. They offer access to state-of-the-art vivarium research facilities with supporting services that enable biotech’s to conduct their own preclinical in vivo studies in a choice of shared, semi-private, or private lab spaces.

Below are some excerpts from my conversation with John:

Logan: What is a contract vivarium?

John: A contract vivarium is a turnkey animal research facility where multiple companies can conduct their own preclinical animal studies. Along with access to research space, including animal holding rooms and procedure rooms, we support all our clients with all of the animal care and regulatory compliance services that are needed to conduct research with animals, which includes animal husbandry, veterinary oversight, and IACUC oversight of study protocols.

Logan: In what ways is a contract vivarium different from a CRO or in-house vivarium?

John: When scientists have discovered something in the lab but they don’t have access to a vivarium, they might outsource their animal studies to a CRO. The scientist will send the CRO their study design, the CRO does the study, and then the CRO sends the scientist back the data. Regardless of the results, there is always a little doubt about the outcome since the scientist did not do the experiment themselves. For well-funded biotech companies, they may be able to build their own vivarium, but it is very expensive and complex, and the upkeep is also expensive since you need staff on hand year-round. The contract vivarium provides an alternative in which the scientists can still conduct their own animal studies, but without having to build their own animal facility. This allows the more established biotech to save money and put it towards other areas of their pipeline.

Logan: What types of clients do you work with?

John: We see everything from a two-person startup in early seed rounds of funding, to established mid-sized biotechs with platforms, pipelines, or in collaboration deals, all the way up to some large pharma companies. The smaller companies might only need a couple of racks in the facility to conduct their studies, the more established biotechs might have one or two private suites, and the larger companies typically seek us out because they have run out of space at their own facilities. For emerging companies currently in an academia research ecosystem, our appeal is that we provide a landing pad for when they are ready to spin out that enables them to maintain control of their studies.

Logan: How do you protect privacy and intellectual property when you have multiple companies working in the same space?

John: When you’re in a shared animal holding room at Mispro with multiple companies, there is no identifying information on any of the cages that say the name of the company or the project, so all proprietary information is protected. We have standard operating procedures to maintain a high standard of professionalism and confidentiality and have never had any issues with researchers breaching that confidentiality. 

Logan: How do you maintain animal welfare?

John: Animal welfare is central to everything at Mispro, and the IACUC protocol oversight and approval process is key to ensuring that the research in our facilities adheres to all government guidelines and that all studies are ethical and humane. The IACUC works with investigators to ensure that they minimize the use of animals as much as possible and that there is no undue pain or stress placed on the animals. Our husbandry and veterinary staff are vigilant about monitoring the animal models to ensure their health status follows the protocol.

Logan: Why should companies choose Mispro?

John: Mispro has always been an innovator and pioneer in the contract vivarium space. Our level of service, transparency, and the quality of our facilities is unparalleled and innovative. It is also worth noting that many of our clients are successful in their pursuits, and they often recommend us to other researchers and companies.

Logan: What is the one thing you would like the Stanford community to remember about Mispro?

John: When you are ready to spin out and form your own company, a contract vivarium can help you to accelerate your timelines by enabling you to conduct your own early stage animal studies. Which will significantly contribute to confidence in your datasets, and thus a high likelihood of reproducibility in later stage trials.

On behalf of the Stanford Biotech Group, I’d like to thank John for the insightful conversation. We’d also like to thank Mispro for being an official partner of our organization. We look forward to continuing to grow this relationship in the future. If you would like to learn more about Mispro, you can visit their website here: https://www.mispro.com/