By Peter Loftus
Drug maker Merck & Co. said it would stop using chimpanzees
in its biomedical research, joining several other companies and
government agencies that have phased out use of the primates in
testing drugs and vaccines.
Merck, of Whitehouse Station, N.J., cited the availability of
alternative methodologies that in many cases can replace the need
for chimpanzees, whose close relationship to humans has raised
ethical issues over their use in drug research. The company made
the decision in late 2013 and disclosed it in an update on its
website in January, a spokeswoman said.
The decision drew praise from The Humane Society of the U.S., an
animal-protection organization that has campaigned to spare chimps
from what the group says are unnecessary and painful experiments.
Some drug companies including GlaxoSmithKline PLC and
nonpharmaceutical companies such as Colgate-Palmolive also have
ended testing in chimpanzees, according to the society.
"Merck's decision, and that of several other pharmaceutical
companies, sends a strong message that private industry is moving
away from chimpanzee research as the government has," said Kathleen
Conlee, vice president of animal research issues for the humane
society.
In 2011, the Institute of Medicine, which advises government and
industry on health matters, recommended that testing in chimps be
curtailed. The IOM said that while chimps' close genetic connection
to humans have made them valuable for medical research, such
research raised ethical issues and carried a "moral cost."
Ms. Conlee said chimps have cognitive and emotional abilities
that can make them vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder
when used in lab settings. She also said many have been warehoused
as newer, alternative methodologies were developed. She estimated
about 850 chimps are in labs in the U.S.
The IOM also said newer technologies have brought alternatives
to using chimps, including genetically modified mice and computer
simulations. Merck didn't specify which alternative methodologies
it would use in lieu of chimps.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration generally requires animal
testing for proposed new drugs to measure things such as how much
of a drug is absorbed into blood, but has said it supports efforts
to reduce unnecessary animal testing.
The National Institutes of Health said last year it would
significantly reduce the use of chimps in research and "retire"
most of the chimps it owns or supports. Retired chimps were to be
sent to wildlife sanctuaries.
Merck has made limited use of testing drugs in chimps, the
spokeswoman said. The company did conduct hepatitis C drug testing
in chimps. Merck said about 97% of its animal studies are in
rodents.
Merck said it is dedicated to the ethical and responsible
treatment of all animals involved in the development of medicines
and vaccines.
Write to Peter Loftus at peter.loftus@wsj.com
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