It is with great sadness that we share that on December 10th, 2009, Tom, Project R&R’s Ambassador, died suddenly and unexpectedly at Fauna Sanctuary. Our condolences and love go out on behalf of all our supporters to Fauna director Gloria Grow, the chimps, and everyone at Fauna.

Tom inspired us, taught us, and earned the distinguished role of Project R&R’s Ambassador on behalf of all chimpanzees still languishing in laboratories everywhere.

PLEASE, in loving memory of Tom, call your Representative today and ask him/her to sign on to the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326) because it is the right thing to do.

If your Representative is already signed on, thank them and share with them our loss of Tom. Remind him/her that Tom’s sudden and unexpected death sends a tragic message that chimpanzees in labs have precious little time left. We must get them all to sanctuary by passing GAPA into law.
 
From of all of us at NEAVS, thank you for your love and care.

Sincerely,

Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D.
President

Condolences can be sent to: gloria.fauna@videotron.ca

Donations in memory of Tom can be sent to:

the Lifetime Care Fund, Fauna Sanctuary
c/o NEAVS, 333 Washington Street, Suite 850 Boston, MA 02108

or, click here to give online and note “for Tom” in the comment box

On December 2, 2009, scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) reported that the experimental drug SPC3649 (developed by Santaris Pharma) was effective against hepatitis C in chimpanzees. According to the results from the study, the drug caused a substantial decrease in the level of virus present in the blood of the chronically infected chimpanzees. The Los Angeles Times released a story on the study stating, “The antiviral, which is already being tested for safety in humans, has exhibited no toxic side effects and has not allowed development of resistance, a characteristic that plagues other treatments.”

Read the LA Times story.
 
While the possibility of a drug to treat hepatitis C is welcome news, according to Dr. Jarrod Bailey, Science Director of Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in Laboratories, there was no necessity and is no justification for having used chimpanzees in this research.

In response, Project R&R submitted a Letter to the Editor of the LA Times (see below).
To read our full position, click here.

Letter to the Editor:

Your December 4th story (1) on an experimental antiviral drug, SPC3649, was reported as decreasing hepatitis C virus (HCV) in chimpanzees, with scientists hoping results will be mirrored in humans, leading to the first effective hepatitis C treatment.  In 2006, human liver tissue culture experiments, demonstrated the drug’s potential to decrease HCV infection (2). It has been tested in African green monkeys (3) and mice (4), and is being tested in human clinical trials (5). So why was a chimpanzee study necessary?

Given the differences between humans’ and chimpanzees’ course of HCV infection, and the lack of relevance of chimpanzee data to humans (e.g., in HIV/AIDS vaccine research), there is no scientific justification for this chimpanzee research. Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, home to this study (6), receives millions each year to house and maintain chimpanzees, leaving the bogus need for their use even more suspect.