Leading medical research funders present the facts on primate research

5 June 2006

A new booklet that explains the use of primates in medical research has been published. In 'Primates in Medical Research' [PDF 1MB] scientists from two of the UK's leading medical research funders - the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust - describe the work they carry out, and explain why it is necessary and how it benefits human health.

Scientific research using animals is tightly regulated in the UK. All scientific procedures on animals are guided by a set of principles called the 3Rs:

Replace animal experiments with non-animal techniques wherever possible
Reduce the number of animals to a minimum and use alternative methods where possible
Refine the way experiments are carried out, to ensure animals suffer as little as possible.

The booklet explains how particular species are selected for medical research. Most experiments involve mice or rats. Only 0.1 per cent of animals used in research are monkeys. The use of great apes, including chimpanzees and gorillas, is illegal in the UK.

Many significant advances in modern medicine have been based on research involving primates, such as the development and production of polio vaccines, kidney dialysis and drugs to combat asthma.

'Primates in Medical Research' provides examples of six areas of medical science where primates have been used: Parkinson's disease, reproduction, cognition (including the consequences of brain damage or mental illness), vaccines, vision and stroke. It aims to give the public an accurate insight into the research carried out by scientists on primates.

It includes recent images of work carried out with marmoset and macaque monkeys, the species of primates that are used in medical research in the UK, and explains how this work fits into the overall aims of current medical research around certain major diseases.

Science and Innovation Minister Lord Sainsbury said:

"Animal research and testing has played a part in almost every medical breakthrough of the last century. It has saved hundreds of millions of lives worldwide, and is vital to the NHS. Research using primates has provided vaccines to protect children and adults from polio and insulin for diabetes, and recent work with primates has led to progress on finding treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and HIV/AIDS.

"Research using primates makes up a tiny percentage of animal studies and is only used when there is no other way. The Government funds work to reduce, refine and hopefully replace the use of all animals in medical research. Research on great apes is banned in the UK, and primates are used in 0.1 per cent of animal experiments. The use of primates in medical research and testing is rare but invaluable and is strictly regulated to minimise suffering and ensure the highest welfare standards."

Dr Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said:

"The use of primates raises strong emotions, but it's essential for the public to have access to accurate information, particularly at a time when issues around animal research are regularly in the headlines. Primates are rarely used in medical research. Ideally, they would not be used at all. However, I hope that we can engage the public in a well-informed debate regarding why scientists do still use primates in carefully regulated situations and what major diseases they hope to alleviate by doing so."

Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, added:

"The UK rightly has very strict guidelines on the use of animals and on the use of primates in particular. But, however strict the law, people have a right to know what scientists are doing and why. This booklet is part of an effort to open up the debate. It explains how research on primates is directed at solving important medical problems. It also shows how concerned we are to reduce the numbers of animals involved in research and to search for alternatives wherever possible."

The facts

Experiments are not allowed on any of the great apes: chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans.
Only 0.1 per cent of the animals used in 2004 were primates.Before a licence can be granted, the researcher must give good evidence why no other species could be used and why there is no alternative to the use of animals in their research.
Since 1998, neither primates nor any other animals have been used to test cosmetic products in the UK.

The booklet summarises the scientific case for using primates in medical research, the ethics of using primates and gives an overview of their current use. It also explains how laboratory animals are cared for and the legal controls governing animal research in the UK.

The Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society, together with the MRC and the Wellcome Trust, are also supporting an in-depth study on 'The use of non-human primates in biological and medical research'. The report aims to examine the recent, current and future scientific basis of using primates in research, and will be published later this year. More information is available from the NHP study website.

Notes to editors

For more information contact the MRC Press Office or the Wellcome Trust Media Office:

MRC
T +44 (0)20 7637 6011
E press.office@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

Wellcome Trust
T +44 (0)20 7611 8540
E media.office@wellcome.ac.uk

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a national organisation funded by the UK taxpayer. Its business is medical research aimed at improving human health; everyone stands to benefit from the outputs. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries, and the academic world. The MRC has funded work that has led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK. About half of the MRC's expenditure of more than £500 million is invested in its 40 Institutes, Units and Centres. The remaining half goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and medical schools. Visit the MRC website for more information.

The Wellcome Trust is the most diverse biomedical research charity in the world, spending about £450 million every year both in the UK and internationally to support and promote research that will improve the health of humans and animals. The Trust was established under the will of Sir Henry Wellcome, and is funded from a private endowment, which is managed with long-term stability and growth in mind.