our systems

Facilities

Our facilities located since 2007 in Tres Cantos, Madrid, are home to offices and laboratories as well as our animal facilities, which exceed animal welfare regulatory guidelines. In addition, we have an office in Barcelona.

Our facilities are routinely monitored by regulatory bodies, our quality assurance team and also by customers during audits.

Laboratories

Vivotecnia provides a fully equipped laboratory that offers state-of-the-art technology and our highly trained and experienced personnel. Our services include:

  • Clinical pathology (biochemistry, hematology, coagulation, urinalysis and morphological analysis)
  • Histotechnique (histopathology)
  • Microbiology (Ames test)
  • Molecular biology (recombinant DNA technologies)
  • Immunology (ELISA, western blot)
  • Citology (cell cultures, flow cytometry)
  • Bioanalysis, through one of our preferred GLP-accredited providers or one of your choosing.

Animal Facilities

Environmental conditions in both the animal facilities and the laboratories are continuously monitored and controlled by an automatic SCADA system. The animal facilities have containment barriers to prevent contagion and maintain adequate environmental and microbiological conditions to minimize the risk of cross infection in the following areas:

  • Specific pathogen free (SPF) area
  • Immunodeficient area
  • Quarantine area

Animal Welfare

Our animal housing is listed with the local authorities and the animals are routinely monitored and examined clinically according to FELASA recommendations. We adhere to the European directive on animal welfare, exceeding the requirements demanded by it. Animals are housed in groups, in pairs or individually, depending on each project’s requirements. We foster environmental enrichment and positive reinforcement in our processes, thereby reducing animal stress and, consequently, possible variability in the scientific results. Studies are designed and conducted under animal ethics review and in agreement with the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement). That is, animals wil be substituted by other alternatives when possible. If it is not, the number of animals for the test shall be kept to a minimum. Refinement refers to polish the study design to prevent animal suffering.

Species

We can house various animal species for in vivo studies:

  • Rodents (rat, mouse, guinea pig)
  • Lagomorphs (rabbit)
  • Larger animals (minipig, dog and nonhuman primate) 

The choice of the corresponding species will depend on the type of study to be carried out.

VIVOTECNIA PROVIDES A FULLY EQUIPPED LABORATORY