Surf on a beach at sunset features a horseshoe crab upside down in the water and several others nearby. Regulatory changes may make the pharmaceutical industry less reliant on horseshoe crabs for ...

Endotoxin testing is a vital component of pharmaceutical, biologic, and medical device quality control, with a direct impact on medication safety. As detection technologies have advanced, the ...

Hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs are used for endotoxin testing in the United States each year, bled for their blood’s ability to clot in the presence of toxins. An estimated 10 to 30 percent ...

They are captured from the wild, piled inside plastic bins, and hauled into labs where they are strapped to a stand. A hypodermic needle is inserted into the membrane surrounding their heart, causing ...

Modern medicine still depends on this animal’s blood to test for bacteria in vaccines. And an alternative test requires further study. By James Gorman For decades, drug companies have depended on a ...