WASHINGTON: The US National Health Institute (NIH) has invested nearly $ 29 million in the past two years to breed more monkeys for biomedical research, reported by nature.
This funding is used to update housing, build outdoor cover and make other infrastructure improvements at the US National Primate Research Center (NPRC).
Here is expected to spend $ 7.5 million in October.
The US government has proposed an increase in 27 percent funds for NPRC in the demand for its budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
If approved by the Congress, which will increase $ 30 million for these centers, the report said.
The aim is to balance the ongoing shortcomings of these animals, which grew worse in 2020 when scientists tested the score of the vaccine and covid-19 treatment in primates before the trial began in people.
“We have invested in bringing the top level and planning the future,” James Anderson, Director of the Division of the Coordination of Programs, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives in Bethesda, Maryland, quoted.
“What happens if [Pandemi] happens again, with another virus in three years? We want to be ready for it,” he added.
US scientists use non-human primates, the most common Rhesus apes (Macaca Mulatta), to study various medical conditions, including infectious diseases.
Genetically and physiologically similar to people, the primates model offers a way to run tests and experiments before human trials or when human trials are impossible.
In 2019, US scientists used 68,257 non-human primates in the study, according to the US government.
“A few years ago, we felt a pinch,” Nancy Haigwood, Director of Oregon NPRC in Beaverton, who accommodated around 5,000 non-human primates, as quoted.
But because of a pandemic, “we really came out of the animal”, he added.
“We turn everyone.” While experts state that new funds are steps in the right direction, it will require a greater investment to fully overcome the shortcomings, they record.
“It was very encouraging to see Biden administration made investment in the future of primate research in the US,” said Matthew Bailey, President of the National Association for biomedical research (NABR) in Washington DC – a group that advocated for support for research animals.
But he added that it took time to build monkey colonies, and the results could have been years.