OHSU Responds to Efforts to Shut Primate Center

1. Claim: OHSU can use the money from closing the ONPRC to focus on patient care.

ONPRC response: This statement is inaccurate and compares apples to oranges.

1. The Oregon National Primate Research Center is mostly funded by highly competitive, research-specific grant awards from the National Institutes of Health, or NIH; research foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation; industry partners; and philanthropy. These funds can only be used for specific research projects. Those funds are not being taken away from patient care and education, nor can they be repurposed for those uses if the center were to close.

2. In fact, the research happening at the ONPRC supports better patient care by finding new medicines to cure and treat diseases like vaccines for COVID-19, polio, smallpox, mumps and measles; new treatments for infertility, heart disease, addiction and diabetes; and breakthroughs in Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, blindness, stroke and depression.

3. OHSU does not control the disposition of the land on which the Oregon National Primate Research resides. The NIH funds the primate center's facilities and operations. NIH approval is required for any sale of the property and would likely limit the proceeds available to OHSU. In fact, closing the primate center would cost OHSU approximately $100 million.

4. The center also helps promote education by training students interested in laboratory animal science, medical and research fields.

2. Claim: Animal research is cruel.

ONPRC response: We limit the use of all animals and nonhuman primates in biomedical research studies to the minimum number required and only for studies where no other viable alternative exists. We are working toward the goal of ultimately eliminating the need for animals, and specifically nonhuman primates, to conduct research. Despite great advances in new approach methodology, the technology to eliminate animal research isn't there yet. At the ONPRC, we are investing to promote the discovery and refinement of alternative methods which have reduced the number of animals required for research. Continued research using nonhuman primates is required to continue development of alternatives and to validate their efficacy.

1. Investment of taxpayer dollars in biomedical research is among the best investments. Although less than 1% of the federal budget goes to the NIH, the investment has a big impact. The United for Medical Research coalition estimates that every $1 invested in scientific research through the NIH produces $2.56 in new economic activity, a more than 250% gain in investment. Further, NIH research supports more than 400,000 jobs across the U.S. Research funded by the NIH has led to major breakthroughs and contributions to human health, including prevention, treatment and cures for cancer, heart disease and Type 1 diabetes. The cost of caring for the aging population is predicted to be in the trillions of dollars for conditions that could be prevented or treated by discoveries in biomedical research, saving tax dollars.

2. We take great care of our nonhuman primates:

• They are born naturally outside and grow up with their social groups, or families. Most of our animals live in these large, outdoor family groups.
• They receive excellent medical and dental care from veterinarian specialists trained in nonhuman primate care.
• Caretakers know the animals in the studies and form deep bonds with them, providing the best possible care, including abundant nutritional food, lots of enrichment in the form of treats, puzzles and touch screens, and frequent interaction.
• Animals on research protocols live indoors with other animals in pairs or groups.

3. Research is heavily regulated for good reason, and research investigators who want to work with nonhuman primates must first:

• Get approval from the NIH scientific peer review panel to ensure the biomedical research question being asked is important to human health and that the data generated will help answer the question.
• Prove that the research question can only be addressed in nonhuman primates and not in another species like mice or rats or by using non-animal methodologies.
• Justify how many animals they are requesting to be sure that it is not too many or too few to answer the scientific question.
• Get approval from the OHSU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.