Monkey trade threatens American drug discovery

Due to growing biomedical-research interests and the limited supply of long-tailed macaques from breeding farms in Southeast Asia – a black market for wild-caught monkeys has long existed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s decision last year to change the status of long-tailed macaques from “vulnerable” to “endangered” was a key factor in the rampant smuggling.

The US, the world’s largest animal importer, is finally doing something, but coordination between various government agencies has been flawed. Federal prosecutors in November charged eight people with running an international operation to poach wild monkeys. Among those charged were two Cambodian wildlife officials, one of whom was arrested in the United States—while traveling to an endangered species conference. The largest US importers of monkeys received subpoenas as part of the investigation, prompting them to temporarily halt shipments from Cambodia. The Cambodian government said it was “surprised” by the arrests.

About 60% of the 30,000 biomedical-research monkeys imported into the United States each year come from China, but Beijing banned those exports during the outbreak, exacerbating a shortage of nonhuman animals for research in the United States. Cambodia. China’s move, many in the industry say, is designed to give that nation a foothold in the biomedical field in a trade war between the two superpowers. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. Elizabeth Anderson, an analyst at Evercore ISI, said the shortage has boosted the price of the non-human primate to more than $2,500 this year.

Ms Anderson said there was some speculation that China might soon reopen to exports, but it was currently closed, and Cambodia used to supply about 60% of the monkeys imported each year.

The most visible financial impact is felt by clinical research organizations such as Charles River Laboratories.

CRL 2.51%

The company’s shares fell 10 percent when it announced last month that it was suspending shipments of Monkey cargo after receiving a subpoena from the US Justice Department regarding shipments it received from a Cambodian supplier. According to Charles River, the situation will cause a delay in studies and will have a negative impact on the income this year. Inotiv shares,

NOTV -2.96%

Another major supplier, down more than 70% from last year. The contract drug researcher said in November that executives at its main Cambodian supplier were among those indicted. Two of Innovative’s subsidiaries have received grand jury subpoenas.

Study delays may already be affecting biotech companies, although it’s unclear to what extent, as executives avoid talking publicly about animal testing. Matthew Bailey, president of the National Association for Biomedical Research, said he is hearing from companies that their projects are being delayed. While no charges have been filed against Charles River or Innovative, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with U.S. laboratories to confirm that the monkeys in the U.S. are wild-caught. Companies may seize monkeys if US authorities fail to adequately document their origins, says biotech lobbyist; This move will exacerbate the shortage.

“Recently, several shipments of NHPs from our Cambodian suppliers were denied by the US Fish and Wildlife Service,” a Charles River spokeswoman said in an email, adding that the company believes the monkey products met all necessary requirements.

Shipments from Cambodia are now suspended pending an agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to implement new procedures to remove wild-caught monkeys, such as genetic testing.

“The U.S. government is saying, you can’t bring them in yet,” Charles River CEO James Foster said during an earnings call with Wall Street analysts last month.. “And those of you in the country — and we in the country — can’t use them until we work them out and make sure they’re really purpose-born.

Mr. Bailey said the actions taken by the Fish and Wildlife Service “unilaterally shut down the drug development process in the United States.”

A spokeswoman for the agency said it had not implemented the ban and would review the legality of imports “on a case-by-case basis.”

Eric Kleiman, a researcher at the Institute for Animal Welfare, says banning all imports from Cambodia is an important step until there is a foolproof way to trace the monkeys’ origins. The country’s statement in November denied the arrests and did not address efforts to crack down on smuggling. “Cambodia’s response to the allegations has not been very thorough and we believe there should be more oversight on the discretionary side,” Mr. Kleiman said.

The shortage is leading to a scramble for resources for research startups. But raising monkeys for laboratory testing takes years, so there is no immediate solution, although alternative sources are growing in places like Mauritius, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Although the United States has funded the breeding of monkeys in national facilities in recent years, the numbers are small. Even if breeding a significant monkey colony is possible, it will take years and a more serious commitment from the US government to approach the standards needed for research, Mr. Bailey said, pointing to climate as one of the many obstacles. .

Mr. Bailey said his group has formed a coalition of affected parties working with Congress and executive branch agencies, but there is still no sense of urgency at the highest levels of government. Chris Meekins, a Washington analyst at Raymond James, said senior government officials in the Biden administration don’t seem to have this on their radar screens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health have at least a small understanding, but we suspect they’re not sure what to do.

Three years after the pandemic shut down the country and killed more than a million Americans, the lack of urgency and coordination is puzzling. It’s not just money at stake.

Write to David Wainer at david.wainer@wsj.com