Intervet/Schering-Plough-sponsored award won by UK academic

Intervet/Schering-Plough is to sponsor an international award honouring advances in developing alternatives to animal testing, which has been won by a University of Cambridge lecturer this year.

The Dieter Lutticken Award for 2009 will be presented to Dr AW Tucker, senior lecturer in veterinary public health at the university, for his work in developing an in vitro air interface respiratory tract organ culture model for researching bovine respiratory illnesses.

Created in conjunction with the University of Cambridge’s Professor Duncan Maskell and Royal Veterinary College London’s Professor Josh Slater, the model can be used to develop vaccines and has replaced the use of animals in some areas of research.

Dr Tucker will be presented with the 20,000 euro (16,546 pounds) award on September 3rd during the Linz Congress 2010.

Last week, Intervet/Schering-Plough announced plans to re-launch its equine strangles vaccine Equilis StrepE in the UK, having made improvements to the formula since withdrawing it in 2007.