Palantir co-founder backs plan for US macaque breeding facility amid supply squeeze - Hardware, PCs and semiconductors

Safer Human Medicine plans to gradually build a breeding population of 30,000 macaques over about 20 years, as prices rise and US researchers face tighter access to imported monkeys.

Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale is reportedly backing Safer Human Medicine, a startup seeking to establish a large-scale macaque breeding facility in the United States. The company plans to grow its breeding population over roughly two decades, eventually reaching 30,000 monkeys.

The facility would initially start with between 500 and 1,000 macaques sourced from breeding operations in Asia. Safer Human Medicine says domestic breeding could reduce US laboratories’ reliance on imported animals for pharmaceutical research and testing.

Demand has increased as AI tools help researchers identify potential medicines and generate more drug candidates for testing. Promising treatments may undergo animal studies to assess safety, toxicity and biological effects before human trials. Macaques are often used in this research because of their biological similarities to humans.

The supply shortage, however, predates AI’s recent expansion in drug discovery. China, formerly the source of about 60% of US imports of laboratory monkeys, banned exports in 2020. US laboratories then sought alternative suppliers, including Cambodia, where investigations in 2022 uncovered allegations that wild-caught monkeys were being falsely presented as captive-bred.

Macaque prices have risen sharply, from about $3,000 in 2019 to more than $20,000 today. China is reportedly charging around $26,000 per animal, while US laboratories import roughly 20,000 monkeys a year.

Building up a domestic breeding population would take time. Female macaques generally reach reproductive maturity at around four years old and typically produce one offspring annually, limiting how quickly a facility can expand its numbers.

The proposal has drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates concerned about keeping large numbers of primates for experiments. Some critics have called for legal action, which could delay the project’s construction or operations. The plan’s progress will depend on its ability to establish breeding capacity as well as regulatory scrutiny and possible court proceedings.

Sources: TechRadar.