Advances on Large Animal Models: Bridging the Gap between Biomedical Research and Clinical Translation

The translation of novel discoveries from basic research to clinical application is a long, often inefficient and costly process. Consequently, “translational medicine” became a top priority. Relevant animal models are critically important for the discovery of key disease mechanisms, targets for medical interventions and subsequent development of new therapies. Rodents are the most popular, but findings in rodents are in many disease areas very different from those in human patients. Thus, animal models mimicking human anatomy and physiology more closely are urgently required. In this respect, pigs, small ruminants and rabbits are excellent candidates. COST Action BM1308 “Sharing Advances on Large Animal Models (SALAAM)” was established to (i) share technical information and further improve technology for the development of tailored large animal models; (ii) establish and validate standardized phenotyping protocols; (iii) create a database of existing models, standardized tissue samples, and validated phenotypic assays; and (iv) develop concepts for the ethical evaluation of experiments with large animals, including involvement of the regulatory authorities. The conference will include the latest developments in genetic engineering/gene editing of large animal models and demonstrate their translational value for specific disease areas and for xenotransplantation. Viewpoints from different stakeholders, including scientists, clinicians, pharmaceutical industry and biotech companies, health care systems, patients, and policy makers and funding agencies will be taken into account. In addition, rational frameworks to evaluate experiments with large animal models by weighing the scientific and ethical arguments will be discussed.