The CDC is instructing scientists to end all research involving monkeys by the end of the year, in a move that will impact around 200 macaques and an unknown number of studies, Science first reported.
The change was communicated to staff by Sam Beyda, a former employee of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency who is now the CDC’s deputy chief of staff, according to Science’s Nov. 21 article.
According to an anonymous official quoted by the journal, Beyda said he was speaking for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is allegedly prioritizing the reduction of animal research as part of his Make America Healthy Again agenda.
It is not known what will happen to the monkeys, which include a mix of rhesus and pig-tailed macaques that stay at the agency’s Atlanta headquarters. The CDC did not respond to Fierce’s questions regarding the fate of the animals or the impact on active studies.
“CDC is committed to the highest standards of ethical and humane care and to minimizing the use of laboratory animals in accordance with the principles of animal welfare in scientific research known as ‘replacement, reduction and refinement,’” an agency spokesperson told Fierce.
“As a part of long-standing agency practice and in alignment with the administration’s priorities, CDC regularly evaluates its research project portfolio, including non-human primate studies, and strives to use non-animal research methods whenever feasible, while ensuring the integrity of research that protects public health and safety,” the spokesperson said.
Most often, monkeys are used to study infectious diseases, such as HIV. Previously, monkey research underpinned the development of the antiretroviral medications known as PrEP, a regimen that can reduce the chance of HIV infection by 99%.
“It’s a huge loss for the HIV field,” Deborah Fuller, Ph.D., director of the Washington National Primate Research Center and HIV researcher, told Science, adding that the federal unit’s monkey research has been instrumental in developing microbicides that protect women from HIV, an area where other animal models have fallen short.
“It’s unprecedented,” Sally Thompson-Iritani, Ph.D., assistant vice provost for the University of Washington’s animal care program, told Science about the change.
Beyond the CDC and FDA, the National Institutes of Health also oversees nearly 7,000 non-human primates, according to Thompson-Iritani.
“We have a responsibility to take care of these animals,” Thompson-Iritani told Science. “That should be included in any road map.”
Since President Donald Trump started his second term this year, federal health regulators have shared plans to phase out animal studies in favor of new approach methodologies, including computational models, human cell lines and organoids.
In April, the FDA announced a plan to phase out animal testing requirements for new monoclonal antibody drugs, and the NIH unveiled a new office to lead the agency’s charge on developing those new methods.