Pain and wound healing research demand models that accurately reflect human tissue structure, innervation, and functional recovery. While rodents remain useful for mechanistic studies, their anatomical differences limit their predictive value for many clinical applications.
Pigs offer a compelling alternative. Porcine skin closely mirrors human skin in epidermal thickness, dermal architecture, lipid composition, and nerve fiber density. These similarities enable clinically relevant assessment of topical therapies, surgical interventions, nerve blocks, and regenerative wound treatments.
Beyond anatomy, pigs enable behavioral and functional endpoints that align with clinical outcomes. Gait analysis, mechanical sensitivity testing, thermal stimulation, and spontaneous behavior scoring provide a multidimensional view of pain and recovery that extends well beyond reflex-based readouts.
MD Biosciences has developed and validated a broad portfolio of pig models, including:
These models are supported by in-house histology, immunohistochemistry, electrophysiology, and biomarker capabilities, enabling integrated interpretation across biological scales.
As regulatory agencies and sponsors increasingly prioritize translational relevance, pig models are emerging not as niche tools, but as essential components of modern preclinical strategy.
Explore translational pig models in pain and wound healing.