Long wait times for mice after transfer of services to OzGene puts WA research at risk

Potentially live-saving medical research is under threat in WA over allegations privatisation has resulted in the unavailability of lab rats. It’s claimed that wait times for mice used for animal testing in State laboratories have exploded after the breeding services that provide them were transferred to a private company. The Animal Resources Centre, which creates genetically modified mice and rats for research, was transferred from State Government ownership to Perth firm OzGene in June 2023. At the time of the move a “smooth transition” was promised, but University of Western Australia researchers claim that has been far from the case. Associate Professor Jason Waithman said he had been given wait times of more than six months for mice, which has put vital research projects in jeopardy. “There’s been a consistent lack of availability for very prolonged periods, which means we can’t get any work done,” the UWA cancer immunotherapy program head said. “We were told that mice weren’t available for several months, and these are stock standard mice that many groups across Western Australia would employ in their research.” Professor Waithman said he was concerned about the ramifications this will have on critical research in WA. “My program is completely dependent on the supply of animals and animal research,” he said. “I can’t change what I do, and funding is extraordinarily competitive and difficult, and to lose any kind of edge is just ruining projects. It could end programs. “We can’t plan experiments six months ahead of time. It doesn’t work that way.” An OzGene spokeswoman conceded there were wait times of more than 12 weeks for breeds of mice that were low in demand, but claimed the highest demand breeds have a lead time of one day for WA delivery. The concerns were raised in an inquiry into support for health and medical research funding by the Education and Health Standing Committee in August. UWA biomedical sciences head, Professor Jeffrey Keelan, was involved in the inquiry and was questioned as to whether the unavailability of lab rats provided an opportunity to develop more non-animal methods of research. He said the UWA ethics committee made sure the use of animals was justified but animals were a necessary tool in creating new drugs and therapies. “The answer is no. If you want to progress the research to the next stage, to develop a new drug or new therapy, there’s a certain amount of work you have to use animals for, and that is what we use the animals for,” Professor Keelan told The West Australian. “There is really no alternative, and the alternative is not to do the work at all, to hand the money back to the grant funding agencies, to stop doing medical research and just leave the State and go somewhere else.” He said the lack of access to mice was having a particularly profound impact on PHD and honours students, who only had a short amount of time to conduct research. “(They’re) the ones that are most immediately affected, and especially the most disarmed, because they have very little flexibility to extend things out,” Professor Keelan said. “It’s having a big impact on research students, and it’s been having a big impact on research programs that depend on timely availability of animals to carry out essential research that is embedded within the timeline of the funding for their project, and so it’s delaying things, timelines are missed, and projects aren’t being completed on time. “The people that manage OzGene need to listen to the research community that they are serving and understand what changes they need to make to how they run their operations.” When asked why there were lengthy wait times, an OzGene spokeswoman referred The West to its website. The website outlines that many of the colonies are “expanding to accommodate growing demand”. “Please note that some colonies, even in Tier 1, may be maintained at a lower level than you require, which could necessitate breeding specifically for your order,” the website reads.