Two national nonprofits that oppose using animals in medical research are trying a new strategy to pressure OHSU to close the Oregon National Primate Research Center, a Beaverton facility that keeps about 5,000 monkeys used in basic science research.

The groups, People of the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, are lobbying the Oregon Health Authority to make closing the research facility a condition of OHSU’s purchase of Legacy Health.

Both have a long history of lobbying to close the primate research center, which is one of only seven in the nation. They argue the living conditions and experiments performed on the animals are inhumane, and the research itself is inessential.

This month, the Physicians Committee bought time on KGW and local radio stations to air spots that feature the tagline: “If OHSU can’t care for a monkey, how can they care for you?” The advertisements direct people to a site that encourages visitors to comment on the merger.

OHSU has posted a lengthy response to the ad campaign online, saying the group is making “false claims” about the research at the center.

The center does “critically relevant” work researching life-threatening diseases and developing treatments, according to OHSU spokesperson Tamara Hargens-Bradley.

That includes the search for a universal “one-and-done” flu vaccine, the search for a vaccine against HIV-AIDS, and the development of better treatments for kidney disease, she said. Studies performed at the center go through a peer review process to ensure the research is not duplicative and the use of an animal is justified.

The Physicians Committee argues the research performed with monkeys isn’t always so original or useful, pointing to studies conducted by the center on cannabis use they say harmed animals and reached unsurprising conclusions.

Staff of the two nonprofits, as well as local doctors who support the campaign, flooded a recent online public hearing on the merger.

Lisa Jones-Engel, a staff scientist at PETA who previously worked at the University of Washington National Primate Research Center, said that Oregon’s facility poses a financial risk due to the likelihood of funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health and rising veterinary costs.

“At some point, likely much sooner than OHSU has anticipated, OHSU is going to find itself with thousands of hungry monkey mouths to feed,” she said.

Neil Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee, said in light of OHSU’s financial losses and the Legacy purchase, the health care giant should consider whether the resources going to monkey research could be better directed elsewhere.

“It’s really time to recognize that a center that was set up in 1962 with a certain set of tools needs to modernize,” Barnard said. “This is 2025, and we have better ways of doing research.”

The land the Oregon National Primate Research Center is on could bring in roughly $100 million if OHSU sold it, according to Barnard.

Hargens-Bradley said the situation isn’t that straightforward, because the NIH has funded the center’s facilities and operations. NIH approval is required for any sale of the property and would likely limit the proceeds available to OHSU.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/03/10/animal-rights-groups-aim-to-make-monkey-research-a-sticking-point-in-ohsus-plan-to-buy-legacy-health/