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Chimps not needed in most research, IOM says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 9, 2012
Most invasive biomedical research involving chimpanzees is unnecessary and ethically problematic and should not be done, said a December Institute of Medicine panel report.
"Research use of animals that are so closely related to humans should not proceed unless it offers insights not possible with other animal models and unless it is of sufficient scientific or health value to offset the moral costs," said Jeffrey P. Kahn, PhD, MPH, chair of the IOM panel and professor of bioethics and public health policy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. "We found very few cases that satisfy these criteria."
Exceptions include research involving monoclonal antibody therapies that could be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer, as well as development of a vaccine to protect against the hepatitis C virus. Such studies should be done in a way that minimizes invasiveness, distress and pain, said the report (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/01/09/prbf0109.htm.
