A major antibody supplier for UCLA agreed to stop selling products under an agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture.
USDA fined Santa Cruz Biotechnology $3.5 million and revoked the company’s license to produce antibodies in the settlement agreement it released.
UCLA, which purchased $360,000 worth of antibodies from the company in 2016, will evaluate the settlement’s impact on current research projects, said UCLA Health spokesperson Tami Dennis. She said the university will look for other suppliers to replace Santa Cruz Biotechnology.
She added Santa Cruz Biotechnology is one of about 20 antibody suppliers to UCLA laboratories. However, Dennis said getting continuous supply from the same companies is important to be able to replicate experiments.
Bob Goldberg, a professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology, said antibodies are proteins used in research to identify where specific proteins are located in cells. Antibodies can also be used to purify DNA-bound proteins for further study.
Santa Cruz Biotechnology, one of the world’s largest suppliers of antibodies, extracts antibodies from goats and rabbits to sell to research labs around the world.
The USDA alleged Santa Cruz violated the Animal Welfare Act by housing goats and rabbits in inadequate conditions and failing to treat tumors, coyote bites and other medical problems.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service filed three complaints against Santa Cruz Biotechnology in 2012, 2014 and 2015 because it allegedly failed to meet the standards of the Animal Welfare Act. The May settlement addressed all three complaints.
The Animal Welfare Act sets basic standards for humane treatment of certain animals, including those bred for commercial sale or used in biomedical research.
Santa Cruz Biotechnology did not respond to requests for comment on the settlement or its impact on research labs.
The company had to pay the settlement fine and stop lab operations by May 31. It can continue to sell antibodies it already produced until the end of the year.