BioSimia, France CNRS network for nonhuman primate biomedical research in infectiology, immunology, and neuroscience

Research and developments based on nonhuman primate models have a specific place in biomedical sciences, and nonhuman primate species also have a specific place in the public opinion on the use of animal in research. While nonhuman primates are used in very limited number compared to other animal models, they are rightly the focus of deep ethical concerns. The importance of nonhuman primates in neuroscientific fundamental and preclinical discoveries together with the targeting of such research by activist groups well illustrate this fact. Nonhuman primates also highly contribute to other biomedical fields including immunology, virology, or metabolic and respiratory physiology. In all these fields, researchers, engineers and technicians face similar matters and share the same needs for optimal animal welfare, handling, and veterinary care, the same quest for first-rate research infrastructure and funding, and the same yearning for more public understanding and support. In this article, we give an overview of the evolution of human-animal relationships and public attitudes to animal research in France, and we recount the creation of BioSimia, France network for nonhuman primate biomedical research which now links all academic laboratories nationwide in all the domains for which nonhuman primates remain essential. We explain the principles as well as the outcomes of networking across disciplines. As a perspective, we outline the potential benefits of extending such network to a European scale.