Congressman slams FDA for ignoring 'troubling evidence' about Elon Musk's Neuralink and allowing brain chip to be implanted in humans - despite botching experiments on monkeys

Lawmakers have slammed the Food and Drug Administration for ignoring 'troubling evidence' of Elon Musk's Neuralink practices and pushing the brain chip to human trials.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) penned a letter to the FDA, criticizing the agency for not expecting the company's long list of animal abuse allegations that span back to at least 2019. 

The Democrat cited 2022 reports that described employees' complaints of 'hack jobs' of animal experiments due to a rushed schedule, causing needless suffering and deaths. 

The open letter also stated 'these alleged failures to follow standard operating procedures potentially endangered animal welfare and compromised data collection for human trials.'

Blumenauer is now  demanding the FDA explain how it reconciled reports of such lapses with its decision to authorize Neuralink's human trial.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer wrote a letter to the Food and Drug Administration claiming it ignored Neuralink's missing documents and animal rights violations

allowing Elon Musk's Neuralink to test brain chip in humans before inspectin ignoring 'troubling evidence' of Elon Musk's Neuralink practices

are questioning why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) didn't inspect Elon Musk's Neuralink despite allegations of animal welfare abuse during the initial trials.

Neuralink started testing its brain chip implants on humans in January, saying it was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) penned a letter to the FDA on Monday criticizing the FDA for reportedly ignoring 'troubling evidence' about Neuralink's treatment of animals from as early as 2019. 

The company's brain chip device allows paralyzed patients to control computers using just their thoughts. 

Neuralink implanted its first brain chip in a paralyzed patient in January who was seen playing an online chess game using his mind

Blumenauer's complaint comes after Musk posted a video on X last week, showing the first patient to receive a Neuralink brain implant playing online chess using just his mind.

The patient, a paraplegic man Noland Arbaugh, 29, received the implant in January, after Musk proclaimed the FDA approved the first human trials in March 2023.

Musk's plans for Neuralink have included the device helping both disabled and healthy people cure a range of conditions such as obesity, autism, depression and schizophrenia.

However, the first demonstration showed Arbaugh controlling a computer with his thoughts.

Still, Neuralink's 'breakthrough' is said to have come with the cost of more than 1,500 animal deaths, including monkeys, pigs and sheep.

While Blumenauer stated the FDA ignored such details, a recent report from the agency showed it did find problems with Neuralink's record keeping and quality animal controls during inspections in June 2023.

'These issues show a lack of attention to detail,'  Jerry L. Chapman, a senior quality expert with the data analytics company, Redica Systems, told the outlet.

Neuralink said it received FDA approval to start testing its brain chips in humans earlier this year

The FDA inspectors identified issues with missing calibration records for tools like the pH meter used in initial studies and there were no records of Neuralink monitoring the vital signs for the test animals which included monkeys.

Now Blumenauer is demanding answers for the missing information and previous employee complaints since late 2022, claiming Neuralink conducted 'hack jobs' for animal experiments in order to meet their deadline.

The former employees had claimed that the rushed animal experiments caused needless suffering and deaths, and Blumenauer demanded in his letter that the FDA explain how it ignored the reports and missing documents about the company's practices.

Neuralink acknowledged that some monkeys died during development of the brain chips at the University of California, David Primate Center- but failed to provided exact details that led to their deaths.

READ MORE: Elon Musk reveals Neuralink's new project that could restore sight - and says the 'implant is already working in monkeys' 

Elon Musk's Neuarlink is under investigation for problems with record keeping and quality controls for animal experiments less than a month since starting human trials. 

However, the company denied claims of animal abuse and said at the time: 'Currently, all novel medical devices and treatments must be tested in animals before they can be ethically trialed in humans. 

'Neuralink is not unique in this regard,' it added. 'At Neuralink, we are absolutely committed to working with animals in the most humane and ethical way possible.'

Musk posted on X on March 21 proclaiming that 'no monkey has died or been seriously injured by a Neuralink device.'

In his letter to the FDA, Blumenauer claimed the FDA had ignored the violations, and wrote: 'These alleged failures to follow standard operating procedures potentially endangered animal welfare and compromised data collection for human trials.'

This is the third letter Blumenauer has sent to the FDA, having asked them to follow up on possible Animal Welfare Act violations in May of last year.

The letter informed the agency that there was a possible conflict of interest with Neuralink among its Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) members.

'The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) appears to be composed almost exclusively of company employees with significant financial stakes in the very animal studies they are required to evaluate under the Animal Welfare Act,' Blumenenauer wrote alongside Adam Schiff, Dina Titus, and other Congress members in 2023.

'Congress has a significant interest in ensuring that all facilities using animals in research and testing—whether they are government-run, universities, or private companies—comply with the minimal standards of the Animal Welfare Act,' the lawmakers added.

'Once again, we urge you to investigate Neuralink on this issue and update us on the findings.'

Dailymail.com has reached out to the FDA and for comment.