Kingfisher International (KFI) is a veterinary contract research organisation (CRO) specialising in in-vivo studies involving companion animals to support research and development (R&D) programmes for the biopharmaceutical industry.
Since 2004, KFI has been providing high-quality service and scientific expertise exclusively to the animal health industry. Situated in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), KFI’s core business includes target animal safety and tolerance trials, dose-finding and escalation studies, acceptance/palatability trials, and laboratory efficacy and disease modelling studies.
The company also provides full pharmacology support, including for pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) activities.
Research services for pharmaceuticals and medical devices
KFI aims to maintain scientific excellence, focusing on high-quality animal welfare and regulatory compliant services and deliverables.
The company’s personnel have considerable knowledge working with a wide range of pharmaceuticals, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, nutraceuticals, chemotherapeutic agents, stem cell and gene therapies, antimicrobials, anti-fungals and analgesics, as well as medical devices.
KFI routinely conducts target animal safety (TAS) studies and pivotal bioequivalence studies for animal health clients submitting to the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Europe.
Exploratory research, trials and models
KFI has extensive experience conducting exploratory research, including proof of concept, first-in-species and laboratory-based efficacy trials and models.
These pilot studies are fundamental to pharmaceutical and vaccine development programmes, as well as provide clients with quality scientific.
KFI advocates a graded approach to new drug development, beginning with pilot studies for early pipeline molecules to optimise efficiency and success during late-stage pivotal studies.
Customised study design service
KFI’s staff have backgrounds in pharmacology, pathology, and toxicology, which are utilised to provide flexible, customised study designs with an emphasis on communication and collaboration throughout all stages of development and execution.
Each study team at KFI strives to meet client objectives and timelines while providing scientific and procedural recommendations, high-quality data generation and concise final reports.
High-quality animal facilities for clinical studies
KFI has two animal facilities capable of supporting good laboratory practice (GLP), good clinical practice (GCP) and non-GLP/CGP work in canines and felines. These locations cover a 15,000ft2 area and contain animal housing facilities, activity and enrichment spaces, treatment rooms, a validated clinical pathology facility with a secondary satellite laboratory, and modernised surgical and necropsy suites.
Both facilities are fully compliant with Canadian provincial and federal research accreditation standards.
Collaboration with veterinary specialists
KFI’s close proximity to the GTA and the Ontario Veterinary College enables on-site and off-site collaboration with highly qualified board-certified veterinary specialists.
Clients can easily access disciplines such as surgery, anesthesiology, cardiology, ophthalmology, radiology, clinical and anatomic pathology, neurology and dermatology.
KFI also has strong partnerships with regulatory consultants, biostatisticians, key opinion leaders, and bioanalytical laboratories proficient in assay development and validation for both large and small molecules.
Quality assurance programmes meeting GLP standards
KFI’s internal quality assurance (QA) programme has been diligently built from the ground up with full consideration to GLP compliance. KFI’s group is led by a registered QA profession in Good Laboratory Practice (RQAP-GLP) with more than ten years of industry experience.
Prior to collaborating with KFI, external facilities and subcontracted laboratories are GLP-audited by the company’s quality group to ensure the highest possible standards are met for all pivotal studies.
KFI is strongly committed to the success of our clients. The company provides innovative strategies and solutions to conduct studies of a high calibre. KFI is a strategic partner and resource, ensuring clients achieve their aims, objectives and goals within R&D programmes.