Release & Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories

Other Federal Facilities

Who’s There?
Who are the chimpanzees at these facilities?

Other federal government facilities housing or using chimpanzees in the U.S. are:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The CDC, FDA, and NIH are all government agencies under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS “is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services…” The eleven agencies under HHS “perform a wide variety of tasks and services, including research, public health, food and drug safety, grants and other funding, health insurance, and many others.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Atlanta, GA

Approximate number of chimpanzees: 8 (Reflects 2009 information received directly from the facility)

History & Profile

Founded in 1946 to help control malaria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) current mission is “to collaborate to create the expertise, information, and tools that people and communities need to protect their health – through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability, and preparedness for new health threats.” (1) The CDC operates under the HHS and “is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting public health activities in the United States.” They employ “more than 14,000 employees in 54 countries…” (2)

The CDC has “three animal lab facilities in metro Atlanta and two out of state.” (3) Each one has its own Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to oversee its animal program, facility, and procedures. (4) The species housed at these facilities include “non-human primates, rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, and ferrets, among others.” (5) At the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Laboratory Branch in Atlanta, the lead scientist and IACUC Chairperson, Dr. Ron Otten, “estimates that several dozen non-human primates are currently involved in HIV/AIDS research at CDC.” On average, the CDC has “approximately 500” nonhuman primates (6) and “roughly 5000 animals” in total. (7)

Chimpanzee Use

Purportedly, the CDC mainly uses chimpanzees in hepatitis research with “… ongoing research involving its chimpanzees to look for a vaccine to prevent deadly hepatitis C.” (8) In 2006, the CDC was placed on probation by the international accreditation group, the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care -International, for serious problems in caring for their animals. Reported issues included one chimpanzee who underwent 10 liver needle biopsy attempts by a researcher (more than three is considered too many by the CDC.) (9)

Research Profile*

According to the CDC, the majority of their research involving animals focuses on “infectious disease biomedical research in the areas of virology, bacteriology, mycology, immunology, and parasitology.”(10)

“In the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Laboratory Branch, there are three essential categories of ‘products’ which require animal research: vaccines, anti-retroviral drugs, and topical microbicides… research and preclinical evaluations in each of these HIV/AIDS prevention areas requires the use of non-human primates almost exclusively.” (11)

The CDC sometimes uses non-animal alternatives in research, although frequently they do not and believe that “animal research will always be required. Even the most sophisticated technology cannot mimic the complex cellular interactions that occur in a living system.” (12)

* These research programs may involve primates other than chimpanzees.

Financials

On December 8, 2004, the President signed into law H.R. 4818, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, for fiscal year 2005. CDC received a total funding level of $6.9 billion for FY 2005 (13). According to the CDC website, “Between FY 2003 and FY 2006, the Animal Resource Branch spent about $5.2 million a year. Following the AAALAC preliminary report [in 2005], CDC increased that budget by 55%. Excluding one time equipment purchases in FY 2006, the FY 2007 budget included a 3.5% increase over the FY 2006 budget.” (14) For FY 2009, the “President’s Budget submission includes a total funding level for the CDC/ATSDR of $8.8 billion, which reflects a decrease of approximately $412.1 million below the FY 2008 Enacted level.” (15)

Address

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30333

Sources

(1) http://www.cdc.gov/about/

(2) http://www.cdc.gov/about/resources/facts.htm

(3)http://www.thedogplace.org/Articles/DogCare/CDC.Probation.Elliott.0612.htm

(4) http://www.cdc.gov/news/2006_11/animal_care/factsheet_iacuc.htm

(5) http://www.cdc.gov/news/2006_11/animal_care/factsheet_ar_cdc.htm

(6) http://www.cdc.gov/news/2006_11/animal_care/a-l_faq.htm

(7)http://www.thedogplace.org/Articles/DogCare/CDC.Probation.Elliott.0612.htm

(8) http://www.cdc.gov/news/2006_11/animal_care/a-l_faq.htm

(9) http://www.cdc.gov/news/2006_11/animal_care/a-l_faq.htm

(10) http://www.cdc.gov/news/2006_11/animal_care/factsheet_ar_cdc.htm

(11) http://www.cdc.gov/news/2006_11/animal_care/cdc_research.htm

(12) http://www.cdc.gov/news/2006_11/animal_care/factsheet_ar_cdc.htm

(13) http://www.hhs.gov/budget/05budget/centers.html#chr

(14) http://www.cdc.gov/news/2006_11/animal_care/a-l_faq.htm

(15) www.cdc.gov/fmo/topic/Budget%20Information/appropriations_budget_form_pdf/FY09budgetreqsummary.pdf

Food and Drug Administration

Silver Spring, MD

Approximate number of chimpanzees: 11

History & Profile

Authorized by Congress to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and several other public health laws, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates such things as food, cosmetics, human and nonhuman animal medicines, medical devices, and radiation-emitting consumer products. (1) According to their mission statement, “The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. The FDA is also responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and more affordable; and helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medicines and foods to improve their health.” (2)

Historically, the FDA “grew from a single chemist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862 to a staff of approximately 9,100 employees and a budget of $1.294 billion in 2001.” (3) Currently, the FDA is “an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services and consists of nine centers/offices.” (4)

Chimpanzee Use

In the past, the FDA used chimpanzees in hepatitis C virus vaccine research. According to NIH’s Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP) database, the last of these studies appears to have taken place in 2003. Chimpanzees were also used in polio research by FDA researcher Konstantin Chumakov. In January 2009, NEAVS sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) inquiry to the FDA requesting a complete listing of all chimpanzees housed at the various FDA facilities. In March, we received a response from the FDA saying there were “no programs in the Center for Veterinary Medicine, FDA that use or house chimpanzees…; therefore we have no listing as you requested.”

Research Profile*

In terms of animal research, the FDA “reviews the results of laboratory, animal and human clinical testing done by companies to determine if the product they want to put on the market is safe and effective.” (5) They then monitor products after they are available to the public and respond to problems or new risks that arise. “The agency receives more than 400,000 problem reports a year.” (6)

Within the FDA, the Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research (CBER) was the primary department involved with the hepatitis C research on chimpanzees. CBER “conducts active mission-related research programs” (7) under various research divisions, including the Division of Viral Products under which is the Laboratory of Hepatitis Viruses; “the Division of Viral Products is responsible for the review, evaluation, and regulation of viral vaccines and related products.” (8)

CBER regulates vaccines, xenotransplantation products, and other biological products. Biological products “include a wide range of products such as vaccines, blood and blood components, allergenics, somatic cells, gene therapy, tissues, and recombinant therapeutic proteins…Biologics are isolated from a variety of natural sources - human, animal, or microorganism - and may be produced by biotechnology methods…and, in time, may offer the most effective means to treat a variety of medical illnesses and conditions that presently have no other treatments available.” (9) For xenotransplantation products, “which involve the transfer of nonhuman cells, tissues or organs to humans,” CBER’s research program “is aimed at developing tests that will predict and evaluate the immune responses to cellular therapy and xenotransplantation products, thereby forecasting the safety and effectiveness of the products…(10)

* These research programs may involve primates other than chimpanzees.

Financials

The FDA’s website claims that the agency works “at a cost to taxpayers of about $3 a person.” (11) The FDA’s program funding level was $1.695 million for FY 2004, around $1.801 million for FY 2005, and $1.881 million for FY 2006. (12) For FY 2009, “the FDA requests a total budget of $2.4 billion. This amount is $129.7 million more than FY 2008 and represents a 5.7 percent increase.” (13)

Address

Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002

Sources

(1) www.fda.gov/opacom/faqs/faqs.html

(2) http://www.fda.gov/opacom/morechoices/mission.html

(3) http://www.fda.gov/oc/history/historyoffda/default.htm

(4) http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7org.html

(5) http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/fda101/sld017.html

(6) http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/fda101/sld018.html

(7) http://www.fda.gov/cber/research.htm

(8) http://www.fda.gov/cber/research/dvp.htm

(9) http://www.fda.gov/cber/about.htm

(10) http://www.fda.gov/cber/research/bloom.htm

(11) www.fda.gov/opacom/faqs/faqs.html

(12) www.fda.gov/oc/oms/ofm/budget/2006/PDFs/Summary/Pages56thru57.pdf

(13) http://www.fda.gov/oc/factsheets/budget2009.html

National Institutes of Health

Bethesda, MD

Approximate number of chimpanzees: 500 (210 chimpanzees are housed at the Alamogordo Primate Facility in NM)

History & Profile

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency under HHS, “is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research…With the headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, the NIH has more than 18,000 employees on the main campus and at satellite sites across the country.” (1) NIH “traces its roots to 1887 with the creation of the Laboratory of Hygiene at the Marine Hospital in Staten Island, NY.” (2) NIH claims that its “mission is science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.” (3)

NIH has 27 institutes and centers (4):

• National Cancer Institute
• National Eye Institute
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
• National Human Genome Research Institute
• National Institute on Aging
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
• National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
• National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
• National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• National Institute on Drug Abuse
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences
• National Institute of Mental Health
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
• National Institute of Nursing Research
• National Library of Medicine
• Center for Information Technology
• Center for Scientific Review
• John E. Fogarty International Center
• National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
• National Center for Research Resources
• NIH Clinical Center

Of these 27 Institutes and Centers, “All but three of these components receive their funding directly from Congress, and administrate their own budgets.” (5) Through its National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), NIH “supports all aspects of clinical and translational research…[t]his support enables discoveries made at a molecular and cellular level to move to animal-based studies, and then to patient-oriented clinical research.” (6) NCRR itself supports eight national primate research centers (NPRCs), which are located across the country and use “nonhuman primates as animal models of human diseases.” Together the NPRCs “have more than 28,000 nonhuman primates of 20 different species.” (7) Two of the NPRCs – Yerkes and Southwest – house and use chimpanzees in addition to other primates.

Chimpanzee Use

In the 1980s, NIH established a Chimpanzee Breeding and Research Program that was designed to produce greater numbers of chimpanzees to be used in HIV/AIDS research. By 1995, NIH acknowledged that they had a “surplus” of chimpanzees for research and a voluntary breeding moratorium was initiated on chimpanzees owned/supported by NCRR. (This moratorium became permanent in 2007.) In 1998, “[b]ased on the recommendations in a report from the National Academy of Sciences, NCRR…created a NIH Chimpanzee Management Program (ChiMP).” (8) ChiMP “supports long-term, cost-effective housing and maintenance at NCRR-supported facilities for chimpanzees…” (9) Besides the NPRCs, NIH also provides grants to private laboratories for research involving chimpanzees. Read about the chimpanzee breeding moratorium.

In addition to Yerkes and Southwest, NCRR provides funding for three independent facilities that house chimpanzees for use in biomedical and behavioral research – Alamogordo Primate Facility, New Iberia at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. (10) NIH owns Alamogordo, which is located in New Mexico and holds approximately 231 chimpanzees. In 2001, NIH awarded Charles River Laboratories, Inc. (CRL), a $42.8 million, 10-year contract to manage Alamogordo. Unlike New Iberia and M.D. Anderson, Alamogordo “houses chimpanzees that have been used in biomedical research, but no active, invasive research is conducted on the site. To be used in continuing virological research, the animals must be transferred to active chimpanzee research settings.” (11)

Research Profile

Primarily used in HIV and hepatitis research, NIH research using chimpanzees has also included studies involving bioterrorism and the Norwalk virus. A researcher at the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Robert Purcell, studied “New Approaches to Passive and Active Immunoprophylaxis” under Grant No. 1Z01AI000823-07. Another researcher, Kim Green, studied the “Norwalk Virus and Related Norwalk-like Viruses in Viral Gastroenteritis” under Grant No. 1Z01AI000343-19. For the most part, current research on chimpanzees focuses on vaccine development for hepatitis C. (12)

Financials

For FY 2009, the NIH budget request was for $29.465 billion, “equal to the FY 2008 Enacted Level.” (13) “More than 80% of the NIH’s funding is awarded through almost 50,000 competitive grants… in every state and around the world. About 10% of the NIH’s budget supports projects conducted by nearly 6,000 scientists in its own laboratories, most of which are on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.” (14)