Digitisation & IVC update

Thank you for your continued patience as our team works diligently to digitise all strains and to transfer all animals into individually ventilated cages (IVCs). This is a considerable task since there were approximately 50,000 animals to transfer when the work began. We are happy to report that the mouse colonies are currently 92% digitised and 89% in IVCs. The rat colonies are 94% digitised and 11% in IVCs. The work continues and we will bring you regular updates on the progress going forward.

What is digitisation? ~ Each individual animal is digitally entered into our Geneoz Vivarium Management System (VMS), which enables us to track each animal, their location, birth date and all husbandry procedures performed. The VMS data allows us to display real-time animal availability on our ordering portal and drive our digital shipping and invoicing processes. We initially focused on importing sale cohorts to make them available on the portal as soon as possible. Since then, we have been digitising the breeders of each strain. Once the breeders are in the VMS, their offspring are automatically uploaded onto the ordering portal as they are weaned, ensuring an efficient system for managing our animals.

Why IVCs? ~ All animals are being moved from open top cages to Techniplast Individually Ventilated Cages (IVCs), as they prevent airborne contamination, reduce the risk of cross-contamination between cages, and enable improved temperature and humidity control. The use of IVCs helps to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare and biosecurity. The bulk of the IVCs and change stations were delayed in transit, arriving only in late June. We have since been working to import all remaining animals into the IVCs, with the initial focus on mouse colonies.

Updated breeding algorithms

Our inbred and outbred rat and mouse strains have been set up with new, optimised breeding plans according to the new IVC cage density and modern industry standards. We have implemented a data-driven approach using algorithms to optimise our breeding programs. The mouse breeding follows guidelines set forth by JAX. As a result of this transition, there has been a temporary lull in litters for some strains until the new mating arrangements start to produce offspring. We recognise that this has caused a shortage in stock with some strains, and we sincerely apologise for the disruption this may have caused. These steps were necessary to ensure the efficiency of our breeding plans in the IVCs and to maintain consistent stock availability in the long-term.

Large order requests

We appreciate your ongoing collaboration in research and understand that there are instances when you require a substantial number of animals for your studies. However, particularly with small colonies, there might be limitations in immediate availability. To ensure we can best accommodate your needs, we kindly request that you provide us with as much advance notice as possible by emailing arc@ozgene.com. This will assist us in preparing and meeting your requirements. Please be aware that due to the breeding cycles of mice and rats, a lead time of 12 weeks or more could be necessary for us to enable the availability of the desired quantity.

Ordering portal update

Our recent technical focus has been on refining animal importation and shipping processes to facilitate efficient access to animals. While the ordering portal developments have been limited since our last newsletter, we have introduced important enhancements. Now, when placing orders, you can request a deviated septum check for female mice. We have also improved pricing transparency by displaying shipping costs and shippers separately in the ‘Confirm Order’ section. Additionally, for smoother PO payments, the portal requires entering the PO number in the payment section. Our commitment to enhancement continues as we work on further functionality. We are now working on introducing institute accounts to allow users from the same institute to view and modify orders. This is also a prerequisite for consolidating shipments on the portal and for enabling payments across departments with separate credit cards.

Rat & mouse strains

Information is now available for all strains transferred from the ARC: https://www.ozgene.com/stock-strains/