Following a change in US policy, a test that uses the blood of horseshoe crabs can now be replaced by a synthetic alternative.
The blood of horseshoe crabs has been a critical way to test for endotoxins, which signal bacterial contamination in insulin injections, vaccines (such as Covid-19) and many other medical interventions.
Blood is ‘milked’ in a lab from the animal - which despite its name is more closely related to spiders - and they are then returned to the sea, however it is estimated that the mortality rate is as high as 30%.
Now, after pressure from scientists, a change in US policy means that a synthetic alternative (rFC) to horseshoe crab blood which currently exists and was recognised as safe in Europe in 2016, has been accepted by the US Pharmacopeia (a quality standards group for drug safety).
Previously, the standards body had deemed there was insufficient evidence to prove rFC could completely replace horseshoe crab blood, but it has now published an early adoption for a policy that allows non-animal methods, including rFC.
Speaking to the Guardian earlier this year, Rich Gorman, of Sussex University, UK, and author of a recent study of the horseshoe crab, said: “Harvesting horseshoe crabs for their blood has saved millions of lives. If you’ve ever been given a vaccine, you can thank the horseshoe crab for ensuring that your jab was safe.”