29 May 2026
Five llamas have joined the herd at the University of Reading's Centre for Dairy Research, bringing the total number on the farm to 23.
Denzil, Marlene, Raquel, Rodney and Trigger arrived at the CEDAR facility at Arborfield in February. The five join three llamas born at the farm in the past year — Bella, Donna and Gandolph — as well as an older established herd.
One of the herd is also expected to give birth later this summer.
Professor Gary Stephens, who leads the nanobody service at the University of Reading, said: "It is always a brilliant day when new llamas arrive on the farm. We love these animals and we get very attached to them, they all have great personalities.
“Their welfare is absolutely our priority and we take enormous pride in looking after them to the very highest standards. But they are also doing something quite incredible. The nanobodies we get from them are being used in research that could one day change how we treat cancer, infectious diseases and much more. They are rather extraordinary creatures."
Using nanobodies for research
The llamas are central to research into nanobodies, a type of miniature antibody that only certain animals, including llamas, can produce. Nanobodies are far smaller than standard human antibodies, making them easier to engineer into drugs and use as new research tools.
Scientists extract nanobodies from the llamas' blood after exposing the animals to a small quantity of a virus or protein, a process similar to vaccination. The llamas are not harmed.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, nanobodies from the Reading herd contributed to research into treatments for the virus. That work has since expanded into a wide range of other medical and scientific applications.
These include ongoing studies into bird flu and the virus that causes tropical Oropouche fever, as well as work on antimalarial drugs, cancer biomarkers and pandemic preparedness.
The research is supported by Llamatech NBS, being developed as a spin-out company from the University's nanobody programme. The company recently completed the ICURe Explore programme, a national scheme that helps university researchers test the commercial potential of their work. During the programme, the Llamatech NBS team spoke with more than 100 researchers, biotechnology companies, investors and potential partners around the world. Those conversations helped build the case for a dedicated UK-based nanobody service supporting work in therapeutics, diagnostics and structural biology.
Dr Anna Selezneva, Business Development Officer for Nanobody Technical Service, said: “Llamatech NBS is proud to be building on the University of Reading’s long-standing expertise in nanobody research and camelid care. Our aim is to make this unique capability more accessible to researchers and industry partners, both in the UK and internationally, while maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare, ethics and scientific quality. We are now progressing through the ICURe Exploit stage, taking the next important steps towards becoming an independent company with real-world impact.”
Image: five llamas arrive at Reading. For hi-res images of each llama, download via Google Drive.
There are more ways to find out more about animal research at Reading:
Sign up to attend our public lecture on Thursday, 4 June: The Past Present and Future of Animal Research at Reading
Find out more about recent animal-related research: Animal research at Reading: past, present and future
View the Animal Research at Reading webpage
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