MARBURG Ebola Texas Bio Medical NIH Funding Marburg, Ebola, Lassa Fever Vaccine

NIH Animal Experiment Center will provide brand new indoor/outdoor housing for up to 800  Animals

Southwest National Primate Research Center is supported by the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, National Institutes of Health through the grant P51 OD011133.

SAN ANTONIO (December 8, 2021) – Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) and the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) broke ground today on four new buildings that will enable them to continue providing exceptional care for nonhuman primates, play a central role in addressing the nation’s nonhuman primate shortage, and accelerate the Institute’s growth in infectious disease research. 

Animal models are a critical resource in the development of diagnostics, therapies and vaccines for infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, HIV, Ebola and tuberculosis, as well as understanding related cancers, diabetes, neurodegeneration and more.

The Animal Care Complex will be built on Texas Biomed’s 200-acre campus, with construction estimated to get underway after the holidays and finish in early 2023.

The complex consists of four structures: three large indoor/outdoor housing spaces that can support multiple primate species. The 18,000-square-foot animal care building will feature a top-of-the-line veterinary clinic, pathology labs and a central meeting space for animal care staff.

The care complex will also enable SNPRC to strategically expand its critical role supporting biomedical research. The ongoing national primate shortage was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with not enough animals available for required pre-clinical tests of vaccines and treatments before moving into human clinical trials.

“Nonhuman primates are the unsung heroes of biomedical research and are essential to helping us eradicate infectious diseases here in San Antonio and around the world,” says Larry Schlesinger, MD, President and CEO of Texas Biomed. “This complex will enable us to strategically grow our colony and help ensure the nation is better prepared for future pandemics.”

San Antonio City Councilwoman Melissa Havrda notes that the growth for Texas Biomed in the next 10 years will be a win-win for her district and the overall region.

“Texas Biomed is a critical piece of the city’s public health infrastructure and an important economic development partner in my district,” she says. “Studies show Texas Biomed will contribute $3 billion to our region’s economy once this decade of growth culminates. That impact will be phenomenal.”

Breaking ground on the new Animal Care Complex (from left to right): Cory Hallam, PhD, Texas Biomed VP, Business Development and Strategic Alliances; Walter Embrey, Texas Biomed Board of Trustees Member and Facilities Committee Chair; Deepak Kaushal, PhD, Director, Southwest National Primate Research Center; Akudo Anyanwu, MD, Texas Biomed VP, Development; Joanne Turner, PhD, Texas Biomed Executive VP, Research; Andy Anderson, DVM, Texas Biomed Board of Trustees Vice Chair; Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff; Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda, District 6, City of San Antonio; Andrew Hunt, President, Founder’s Council; Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, District 3, City of San Antonio; State Representative Steve Allison, District 121, Texas House of Representatives; Matt Majors, MBA, Texas Biomed VP, Operations.

SNPRC is one of seven National Primate Research Centers and houses several species of nonhuman primates with unique features: the largest colony of baboons in the U.S., which has lived at Texas Biomed for eight generations; the largest group of geriatric marmosets in the U.S., which help study disease and aging; and rhesus macaques bred to be free of specific pathogens, which are integral to the study of HIV, TB, COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Significant medical advancements that have come from working with SNPRC primates include: the neonatal high frequency ventilator, hepatitis B vaccine, hepatitis C cure and Ebola virus treatment and vaccine. COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines were shown to be safe and effective through studies at SNPRC before moving into human clinical trials.

Southwest National Primate Research Center is supported by the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, National Institutes of Health through the grant P51 OD011133.