FDA Study Halted After Jane Goodall Objects

The primatologist had written to the agency that the trial, which involved observing the effects of nicotine addiction in squirrel monkeys, was “cruel and unnecessary.”

| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share

WIKIMEDIA, BORIS23The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has paused a study of nicotine addiction in squirrel monkeys that primatologist Jane Goodall objected to. She wrote a letter—in which she called the research “horrific”—to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. Although Gottlieb communicated with Goodall, an FDA spokesman tells The Scientist that the agency's decision to stop the study was independent of her plea. The letter from Goodall, an outspoken animal rights advocate, was posted on the website of the White Coat Waste (WCW) Project, an organization that seeks to stop animal research funded by US taxpayers, earlier this month (September 7).

According to the Washington Post, Gottlieb responded to Goodall on Monday (September 25), saying that he would temporarily suspend the three-year-old study, which FDA researchers are conducting at the agency’s National Center for Toxicological Research in Arkansas. The FDA commissioner reportedly assured Goodall that he made the decision “after learning of concerns related to the study you referenced,” and said that he was dispatching primate experts to the Arkansas facility “to evaluate the safety and well-being of the monkeys and to understand whether there are additional precautions needed.”

In her letter, Goodall took issue with the fact that juvenile monkeys were being implanted with devices that delivered nicotine directly into their systems and then taught to press a lever that dosed them with the drug. ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Bob Grant

    From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer.
Share
TS Digest January 2025
January 2025, Issue 1

Why Do Some People Get Drunk Faster Than Others?

Genetics and tolerance shake up how alcohol affects each person, creating a unique cocktail of experiences.

View this Issue
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino
New Approaches for Decoding Cancer at the Single-Cell Level

New Approaches for Decoding Cancer at the Single-Cell Level

Biotium logo
Learn How 3D Cell Cultures Advance Tissue Regeneration

Organoids as a Tool for Tissue Regeneration Research 

Acro 

Products

Artificial Inc. Logo

Artificial Inc. proof-of-concept data demonstrates platform capabilities with NVIDIA’s BioNeMo

Sapient Logo

Sapient Partners with Alamar Biosciences to Extend Targeted Proteomics Services Using NULISA™ Assays for Cytokines, Chemokines, and Inflammatory Mediators

Bio-Rad Logo

Bio-Rad Extends Range of Vericheck ddPCR Empty-Full Capsid Kits to Optimize AAV Vector Characterization

Scientist holding a blood sample tube labeled Mycoplasma test in front of many other tubes containing patient samples

Accelerating Mycoplasma Testing for Targeted Therapy Development