After 5 monkey deaths, USDA issues warning to UL's New Iberia research center
The New Iberia Research Center is the nation’s largest academically affiliated, nonhuman primate research center. NIRC is home to more than 8,500 nonhuman primates, according to the university.
The center has recently been noted for the role it played in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the first fully tested COVID-19 immunization approved for emergency use.
The center has received federal fines in the past, including one for $100,000 in 2017 to settle six complaints about its lab, according to the Associated Press. The university did not admit any wrongdoing at the center under the settlement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.