AI-generated image for representation purpose
China, as stated in the report, accounted for nearly 60% of America’s laboratory monkey imports before it banned exports in 2020. However, a 2022 investigation found that wild-caught monkeys were falsely represented as captive-bred animals. US laboratories import around 20,000 monkeys every year, according to estimates.
Because of AI, america’s pharmaceutical industry is facing a lab monkey crisis. Because of their biological similarities to humans, macaques are commonly used in medical experiments.
A TechCrunch report says that the rising costs and restrictions on imports are adding pressure on laboratories. China has played a major role in supplying laboratory monkeys to the US. Facing supply constraints, American laboratories subsequently turned to Cambodia. Now, a startup backed by Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale plans to establish a large-scale monkey breeding facility in the US to help address the problem. Researchers use them to study the safety, toxicity and biological effects of potential treatments before they move into human clinical trials. AI is also changing the drug discovery process. Researchers can use AI tools to identify potential medicines and generate more drug candidates in less time. However, promising candidates may still require laboratory studies, including animal testing, before human trials can begin. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
Palantir co-founder’s startup aims to tackle monkey problem of American pharmaceutical industry
As stated in the report, Safer Human Medicine, said to be backed by Joe Lonsdale aims to eventually breed 30,000 macaques over the next twenty years. Since the export ban in 2020, the pharmaceutical industry has been hit with shortages. As stated in the report, macaques reportedly cost around $3,000 in 2019. But today their prices have since climbed to more than $20,000 with China reportedly charging approximately $26,000 per macaque.
The proposed facility is intended to reduce American laboratories’ dependence on imported monkeys, which are widely used in pharmaceutical research and testing. The shortage has become more pressing as AI helps researchers discover potential drugs faster, increasing the number of experimental treatments that may need to be tested. As mentioned above, China was one of the key suppliers of laboratory monkeys to the US. This in turn has also added to the cost.
However, the supply problem existed even before the recent growth of AI-assisted drug discovery.