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The US Department of Transportation is investigating Elon Musk’s brain implant company – Neuralink – over allegations of illegally transporting dangerous pathogens, after animal rights groups said they found evidence.
A department spokesman told Reuters about the investigation after the Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an animal welfare advocacy group, wrote to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last Thursday to alert him about records obtained on the matter.
The advocacy group said it obtained emails and documents showing unsafe packaging and the movement of implants removed from monkey brains.
The implants may carry infectious diseases that violate federal law, according to advocacy groups.
A Department of Transportation spokeswoman said the agency takes the allegations “very seriously.”
“We are conducting investigations to ensure that Neuralink complies with federal regulations and keeps workers and the public safe from harmful pathogens,” the spokesperson said.
Representatives for Neuralink, including Musk, did not respond to requests for comment.
The investigation adds to the scrutiny facing Neuralink, which is developing a brain implant it hopes will help paralyzed people walk again and treat other neurological diseases.
In December, Reuters reported that Neuralink had been under federal investigation for potential animal welfare violations and that some of its staff had made internal complaints about the experiments it conducted, causing unnecessary suffering and death.
PCRM, which opposes the use of animals in medical research, says pathogens – such as antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus and the herpes B virus – are carried by implants removed from monkeys after improper sanitation and packaging.
No harm was shown
The group says the pathogen can cause serious health problems in infected humans, such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia and severe brain damage, among other problems.
No harm has been demonstrated as a result of the alleged incident, but the advocacy group said Neuralink’s actions “may pose serious and ongoing public health risks.”
“The company’s track record of unethical and unsafe laboratory practices compels the DOT to investigate and pay appropriate fines,” PCRM said in its letter to government officials.
The incident allegedly occurred in 2019, when Neuralink relied on the University of California, Davis to help conduct experiments on primates, according to documents cited by animal rights groups.
Reuters reviewed UC Davis records cited by PCRM in the letter. It is unclear whether other records provide a different or more complete account of what happened.
PCRM obtained these records through a public information request.
A UC Davis spokeswoman would only say that the university complies with all biohazard and lab safety regulations.
The documents show UC Davis employees requested immediate biohazard training for Neuralink employees after an incident that raised contamination concerns.
In April 2019, a UC Davis employee wrote in an email that the university’s primate center was “at risk” for “monkey-contaminated hardware.”
“This is an exposure for anyone who comes into contact with contaminated explant hardware and we make a big deal about it because we are concerned for human safety,” wrote the employee, whose name has been redacted.
During its partnership with UC Davis, Neuralink became frustrated with what it perceived as slow trials in primates.
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