Trying to be a good neighbor can, at times, be trying. New Antigen Inc. was a small biotechnology company located near Great Eastern University. The company leased animal facility space from the school, submitted protocols for review and approval by the school's IACUC and then carried out its research at the school. However, New Antigen also had its own IACUC because the company had a small business grant from the US Public Health Service (PHS) that required euthanizing animals at New Antigen, not at Great Eastern. For that grant, Great Eastern ordered the animals and housed them at the school. When New Antigen was ready for the animals, they would be transported to New Antigen by New Antigen employees, where they would be immediately euthanized for a tissue harvest. The transport process and euthanasia were approved by the Great Eastern and New Antigen IACUCs.

During a Great Eastern IACUC semiannual inspection, an inspector casually asked whether the IACUC had approval the transport of the mice he had just seen being taken to New Antigen. He was told that no, the New Antigen animals being used on the PHS grant were rats, not mice, and they were not being moved that day. The mice he had seen were part of a different New Antigen study and should never have left Great Eastern. A quick phone call to New Antigen revealed that the Great Eastern IACUC had approved the mouse study, that all of the work was to be done at Great Eastern and that the mice were being taken to New Antigen for euthanasia. “But you don't have authorization from the IACUC to move those animals,” said Thai Morris, a Great Eastern animal facility supervisor. “Yes, we do,” was the response from New Antigen. “The study is over. Moving the mice to New Antigen for euthanasia was approved by our IACUC after the study started.”

We have a problem. The Great Eastern IACUC approved the entire study to be completed at the school. However, the New Antigen IACUC subsequently approved the transportation of the mice to its own premises where the animals would be euthanized. Both institutions and IACUCs were acting in good faith, but there was a breakdown in communications. Is the transportation and euthanasia of the mice at New Antigen a protocol violation? If it is, is it reportable to NIH/OLAW, and if so, which IACUC should make the report? How can future problems of this nature be prevented?

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Departure from approved procedures

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Too many cooks in the kitchen

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: It's all about communication

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: A word from OLAW and APHIS