Highlights From the 2025 Society of Toxicology 64th Annual Meeting With Dr. Marianna Bacellar-Galdino, DVM, MSc, PhD

I had a fantastic time connecting with colleagues, clients, and peers at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) 64th Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. As my first SOT experience, I truly enjoyed the vibrant, enthusiastic atmosphere. The meeting’s mission—to foster open dialogue among leading toxicologists and industry professionals about new developments and opportunities for collaboration is something I find especially exciting. 

Altasciences’ Preclinical Safety and Toxicity Assessment Posters

Altasciences’ preclinical ophthalmology team proudly presented seven posters, three of which focused on toxicology and ocular model development. We were honored to receive the 'Best Ocular Poster' award for our poster “Evaluation of Formulation pH Tolerability in New Zealand White and Dutch Belted Rabbits Post Intravitreal Administration,” by Brandon Ossont, Quinci Plumlee, Norbert Makori, and Dr. Simone Iwabe. I had the pleasure of presenting the poster, sharing key findings that advanced the understanding of ocular formulation tolerability. 

Gene Therapy and Ocular Research Highlights

Gene therapy remains one of the most significant and discussed topics in the industry today—and that was true at the SOT Meeting as well. As such, our exhibitor-hosted session, “Fundamentals of Gene Therapy Preclinical Studies in Nonhuman Primates: Experience-Based Key Takeaways,” presented by Norbert Makori, was a great success, drawing an excellent turnout.

We had many discussions about ocular toxicology, particularly the use of animal models for ocular disease studies. Several people we spoke with were also interested in the minipig/Sinclair Nanopig™ for ocular studies. Clients, researchers, and consultants who visited our booth were very interested in learning more about different modeling approaches, and the full ophthalmic capabilities that we have at our sites. 

Our poster on the geographic atrophy (GA)-like model for the Sinclair Nanopig™ drew a lot of attention and sparked insightful conversations, such as how localized damage to the RPE helps with the evaluation of new therapies and what makes the Sinclair Nanopig™ a promising animal model. Dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease that causes damage to the macula, and leads to central blindness. Being able to create a similar localized lesion in an animal with retinal similarities to the human retina helps for the screening and development of new therapies and drug candidates for this disease.
 

If you have any further questions, the preclinical team would be more than happy to answer any of your questions; contact one of our experts today! 

In the meantime, you can read all of the posters we presented at SOT 2025 by visiting the Resource Center on our website, or by clicking on the links below: 

• Subretinal Injection of Sodium Iodate Creates a Geographic Atrophy-Like Model in Nanopigs™
• A 13-Week Dermal Toxicity Study of VIM-004 Gel, a STAR Particles Based Formulation in Göttingen Minipigs®
• Targeted Gene Therapy for CNS Disorders: Precision of Intra-Cerebroventricular (ICV) Delivery and Post-Administration Behavioral Assessments in Mice
• Evaluation of Formulation pH Tolerability in New Zealand White and Dutch-Belted Rabbits Post-Intravitreal Administration
• Gene Therapy Studies and Germline Integration Assessment in Nonhuman Primates
• Bestrophin-Like Lesions Described in Dutch-Belted Rabbits
• Standardization and Harmonization of Altasciences Historical Control Database Development

About the Author

Dr. Marianna Bacellar-Galdino, DVM, MSc, PhD, has been a Study Director at Altasciences  since 2024. She is a veterinary ophthalmologist with expertise in the development and refinement of animal models for ophthalmic indications, as well as gene therapy, retinal diseases, glaucoma, AMD, OCT, ERG, and ocular efficacy testing.

Marianna received a Master of Science  in veterinary ophthalmology at the Federal University of Parana (UFPR-Brazil), and a doctorate in Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology with focus in comparative ophthalmology at Michigan State University (MSU). She also serves as an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology at Loyola University Chicago, IL, and is a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). 

 _{This article was first published in May 2025.}