Animal Health
GemPharmatech has achieved AAALAC and ISO 9001 quality system certification and has built a state-of-the-art animal husbandry management and health monitoring system to ensure the animals’ care, health, and quality. GemPharmatech is committed to providing our customers with consistently high-quality animals and services.
Staff management
All staff entering animal facilities must receive an animal experiment introduction certificate, undergo rigorous training before entering the facilities, and only gain access to animal facilities after completing the training.
All staff must enter with access cards, adhere strictly to the personnel entry and exit procedure, wear disposable protective clothing (shoes, gloves, hair caps, masks, and a complete set of PPE (disposable protective clothing, shoes, gloves, hair caps and masks), and shower before entering the production area.
To reduce the risk of cross-contamination, all staff members must restrict the use of facilities and rooms.
Breeding Management
Breeding Facilities
The GemPharmatech facility is a barrier environment, and SPF mice are housed in centrally ventilated IVC cages and proprietary IVU cages.
Feed
Co60 irradiated and sterilized vacuum-packed pellet feed is obtained from qualified suppliers, and third-party test reports are provided annually, including testing for nutrient content, heavy metals, pesticide residues, and microbes.
The storage warehouse is controlled for temperature, humidity, and pests. The feed is positioned off the wall and the floor and each batch of feed is sampled and tested for sterility before being used in the facility. Mice are fed ad libitum. Feeding containers are replaced every one to two weeks.
Bedding and nesting materials
Corn cob bedding and shavings bedding are procured from qualified suppliers, and third-party test reports are included. Testing on hygiene, chemical contamination, and microbes are conducted annually. Each batch of bedding material is inspected for particle size, color, odor, and contaminants and is stored away from walls and floors. The bedding material is autoclaved before entering the facility.
Drinking water
In order to provide mice with clean water, GemPharmatech utilizes the Edstrom Automatic Drinking Water System with RO reverse osmosis and chlorine treatment. The drinking water is routinely tested for sterility.
Disinfection
The GemPharmatech facility is equipped with several sets of advanced production support equipment. We have high-capacity sterilizing equipment, a multi-floor hydrogen peroxide fumigation and disinfection system, and an automated production line for centralized bedding processing, cleaning, and refilling. Before entering the facility, all materials are sterilized, and all rooms and items are disinfected.
Animal health monitoring
GemPharmatech employs a monitoring system to assure the microbiological quality , decontaminated offspring, environmental (dust) monitoring of breeding mice. The test samples include sentinel mice and breeding stock mice. The test consists of 48 items. In addition, animals are sampled quarterly and sent to third-party testing institutions for monitoring.
Each side of the rack contains a sentinel mouse cage to determine the microbiological status of the animals. The sentinel mouse cage is positioned closest to the air outlet. Healthy female mice(4-6 weeks old) are used for at least eight weeks in a cage with 100% dirty bedding. Monitoring sentinel mice quarterly includes bacterial, viral, parasitic, and necropsy testing.
In addition to standard microbiological surveillance, our staff observes the health of the animals daily, and any aberrant mice are referred to the examining veterinarian for clinical diagnosis, ensuring the mouse's health and welfare.