PCRM 2005: The Year in Review |
New Cruelty-Free Insulin
Test Now Available Worldwide
 The
cruelty-free insulin test kit developed by PCRM in 2004 is now
commercially available to scientists worldwide through Linco Research,
a leading manufacturer of testing supplies.
PCRM developed
the test after launching a 2003 study examining the effects of
a low-fat vegan diet on diabetes. The insulin test kits on the
market at the time used antibodies created in a painful and disturbing
way: antibody-producing cells are injected into the abdomens of
live mice, turning the animals into living “factories.” Experts
said there was no other way, but PCRM proved them wrong.
Dr. Barnard
decided to create an alternative, developing insulin antibodies
in test tubes instead of in mice. However, since test-tube culture methods
often use fetal calf serum, a slaughterhouse byproduct that can harbor bacteria
and viruses, PCRM collaborated with a laboratory to create a serum-free synthetic
growth medium.
The resulting
test kit was as accurate as Linco’s existing insulin testing
method—or
even more so. The company has licensed the method from PCRM to
offer to researchers measuring insulin in scientific tests.
Megha
Even, M.S., the PCRM research analyst who helped develop the test,
presented it at a number of scientific meetings in 2005, including
the conference of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology and the Biological Assay Development Conference. For more
information about the kit, please visit www.lincoresearch.com/products/ezhiasf-14k.html.
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