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Animal-rights group requests federal investigation of MPI Tuesday, October 16, 2007 MATTAWAN -- An animal-rights group has asked the federal government
to investigate the way Mattawan drug-testing company MPI Research treats
the animals it uses. Stop Animal Exploitation Now, or SAEN, said at a news conference
Monday morning that it was contacted a month ago by an employee of MPI
Research regarding allegations that MPI's treatment of animals used in
drug testing violates the federal Animal Welfare Act. ``Some of the violations revealed by the whistleblower include
inadequate veterinary care and inadequate observation of the animals,''
Michael Budkie, executive director of Milford, Ohio-based SAEN, said in
a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's animal-care division.
Budkie refused to disclose the identity of the MPI employee because,
he said, that person fears reprisals. He also would not say if the
person was a current or former employee. MPI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William Parfet said the
1,500-employee company is ``vigorously'' inspected by both the USDA and
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ``We take it seriously,'' Parfet said of the allegations. ``But we
don't believe that there's been any wrongdoing.'' Parfet said MPI would cooperate fully with any inspection or
investigation by regulators, but he said he didn't know if or when that
would happen. USDA spokesman Jim Rogers said the agency follows up all complaints.
As of Monday afternoon, he said, the animal-care division had received
SAEN's complaint but hadn't contacted MPI about it. MPI is a 12-year-old company that conducts early-stage
drug-development trials for pharmaceutical companies. Rogers said it is
inspected once a year by the USDA and was investigated once in 2005. No
violations were found in connection with that inquiry, he said.
See Facility Reports and Information: M
P I Research, L.L.C., Mattawan, MI
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