Escaped primates open can of worms for South Carolina’s Alpha Genesis research lab

With four primates still on the loose after 43 of them escaped on Nov. 6 from the Alpha Genesis Inc. research laboratory in South Carolina, the Low Country facility has come under intense scrutiny.

Animal rights groups have cited the company’s history of violations and previous monkey breakouts; a member of Congress has called for an inquiry into its oversight by multiple federal agencies; and residents voiced concern the furry fugitives might spread disease throughout their community.

On top of it all, Alpha Genesis founder and CEO Gregory Westergaard told ABC News his company is investigating whether the release of the monkeys was “an intentional act” by an employee.

The quest for freedom by the pack of young female rhesus macaques coincides with the rapid expansion of the 100-acre Alpha Genesis facility and is casting light on a disruption in the U.S. medical research industry that sounds like a plot for a science fiction thriller. A 2023 report sponsored by the National Institutes of Health warned of a crisis involving the Chinese government that “undermines the security of the nation’s biomedical research enterprise.”

The case of the absconding primates has also raised questions about why the amount of federal contracts received by the testing and breeding operation has jumped more than 160% since 2021. According to USASpending.gov, a government website that tracks federal spending, the company has been granted $19 million in federal contracts this year alone.

“It’s shocking how much money is being spent on testing primates,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told ABC News.

Mace’s district encompasses the Beaufort County community of Yemassee, where the 6,701 primates housed at the sprawling Alpha Genesis facility nearly triple the number of town residents.

In a formal letter to the NIH, the agency that funds laboratory research, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which inspects and regulates breeding facilities, Mace expressed “very urgent concerns regarding federal oversight of Alpha Genesis.” Mace said the prolonged attempts to recapture all of the primates are “placing the animals and my constituents at risk.”

“A lot of constituents were concerned about whether or not the primates that escaped were sick or ill, or have been tested on,” Mace told ABC News. “There were a lot of folks concerned about the facility being a breeding facility and the testing that goes on there as well.”

The escape highlights an ‘issue of national security’

The incident some locals have referred to as “the great escape” has illuminated the international crisis hitting the animal research industry that Alpha Genesis’ Westergaard said has become “an issue of national security.”

In 2020, the Chinese government, the world’s primary breeder of research monkeys, banned the exports of nonhuman primates (NPH) to labs in the United States and elsewhere, triggering an international shortage of the animals just as research scientists were scrambling to come up with vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a May 2023 report by National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine.

Primates, according to the NIH-supported report, are valuable in answering certain research questions because of their genetic, anatomic, physiologic and behavioral similarities to humans. However, the China ban on exporting research animals exacerbated the shortage and stalled NIH-funded research, according to the report.

The report concluded that the United States “needs to prioritize expansion” of domestic primate breeding programs.

“Relying on importing these animals from other countries is unsustainable, and dependence on international sources undermines the security of the nation’s biomedical research enterprise,” the report warned.

In 2021, the National Primate Research Centers could not meet two-thirds of researcher requests for rhesus macaques, according to the report.

“Researchers also face increased wait times for animals, and costs have risen 10% to 200% for a single animal, depending on the species,” the report said.

What we know about Alpha Genesis’ research

The crisis prompted Alpha Genesis to increase its domestic breeding of research primates. According to Rep. Mace, the company also manages the NIH’s so-called “Monkey Island” on Morgan Island in Beaufort County, which holds another 3,300 primates.

Westergaard told ABC News that Alpha Genesis employs 275 people, plus 30 or so contractors.

In addition to breeding lab monkeys, Alpha Genesis provides researchers across the country with biological products and materials, including serum, plasma, whole blood and tissue samples from a wide variety of research species, according to the company’s website. The private company’s researchers have helped develop several therapeutic drugs and vaccines, including those to treat the COVID-19 virus.

According to NIH online records provided to USASpending.gov, the crisis appears to be in accord with a boost in federal contracts Alpha Genesis has received, jumping from $7.3 million in 2021 to $12.3 million in 2022, $14.2 million in 2023 and $19 million this year.

Primates are worth up to $30,000 each

“The price of research monkeys has indeed increased a great deal since the Chinese banned all exports,” Westergaard said in an email to ABC News. “Prior to the ban monkeys sold for around $4K – $6K, after the ban prices have increased to $10K – $30K+ due to increased costs of raising animals in the US compared to China. An important point to note is that the shortage remains severe and a great deal of research in the US simply cannot be done because animals are not available at any cost.”

Westergaard said some suppliers of laboratory primates have turned to the illegal sourcing of wild-caught monkeys from Cambodia, “which we have not done.”

“It should also be noted that the Chinese government is seeking worldwide domination in medical research and the development of bio-weapons to target US citizens and our allies,” Westergaard said.

He added, “Alpha Genesis is a leading provider of NHPs to the US market and has been instrumental in attempting to fill this void. The alternative is to allow the Chinese to dominate medical development to the severe detriment of our National Security interests.”

Human error or intentional act?

Asked by ABC News whether the rapid expansion of Alpha Genesis’ breeding and testing operations might have played a role in the escape of the 43 primates, Westergaard said the cause of the escape remains under investigation, including whether it was the result of “human error” or an “intentional act.”

“All the information we have thus far indicates that this is human error due to an employee failing to secure containment doors behind her, and a third door directly containing the animals, while doing routine cleaning and feeding,” Westergaard said in an email. “The enclosure was brand new and in perfect working order. We continue to investigate in an attempt to determine to the greatest extent possible whether this was or was not an intentional act.”

Westergaard said that immediately after the incident occurred, the employee’s supervisor told her she could be fired if it was determined that no structural failure of the primates’ enclosure led to the incident. Westergaard said the employee walked off the job and has not returned.

As of early Tuesday, four of the escaped primates remained on the loose, Westergaard said. Two were caught Monday, he said.

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