International attention for BPRC and the debate on animal research
The international science platform The Transmitter has published an article about BPRC, the Dutch government's recent decision and the debate surrounding research involving non-human primates. In the article, director Merel Langelaar and Jinte Middeldorp, head of Neurobiology and Ageing, discuss what the political uncertainty of the past year has meant for their research.
The planned reduction in funding for research involving non-human primates was reversed this year. As a result, BPRC can continue its research into serious infectious diseases and neurological conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. However, this does not mean that uncertainty about the future has disappeared.
"At the moment, we are completely dependent on politics and elections," Merel Langelaar says in the article. "We need a strategy that allows us to continue our work sustainably."
In her letter to the Dutch House of Representatives of 3 July 2026, Minister of Education, Culture and Science Rianne Letschert stated that the available animal-free methods do not yet provide an adequate alternative for all research currently conducted with non-human primates. She also described BPRC as essential infrastructure for biomedical research. The minister recently visited the centre to see what research is carried out and how it is conducted.
Research continued, but uncertainty takes time
For BPRC researchers, the earlier political uncertainty had direct consequences. Jinte Middeldorp explains that following the decision in October 2025, she questioned whether she should still start new projects and submit grant applications. Nevertheless, her department continued its research into the aggregation of the protein alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's disease.
This uncertainty takes up time and attention that researchers would rather devote to their work. Long-term research into complex diseases requires specialised staff, reliable models and the certainty that projects can be completed.
Alongside research involving non-human primates, BPRC also works on animal-free methods, including cell models, genetic research, data analysis and advanced imaging. "We want to continue advancing these developments regardless," says Middeldorp.
Animal-free models
For some medical questions, animal-free models are already very useful. Other medical research questions are more complex and involve interactions between organs, the immune system and pathogens. For these questions, fully equivalent alternatives are not always available yet. New research models can only replace animal studies once they have been thoroughly tested for efficacy and safety.
In the coming years, the proportion of government funding allocated to the development of animal-free methods will increase from 17 to 30 per cent. BPRC is therefore pursuing two parallel approaches: enabling research into serious diseases while continuing to develop reliable alternatives.
The new article follows a publication from October 2025 about the planned funding reduction at the time. Read the new article from The Transmitter.
