Is this the end of biomedical experiments on our closest relatives?

Over one hundred chimpanzees will retire from biomedical research, the NIH announced last week. While experiments using chimpanzees have led to new medicines to prevent life-threatening diseases in the past, recent advances in alternate research tools have rendered chimpanzees largely unnecessary as research subjects (according to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine). The move comes as some groups are pushing for a ban on all medical chimp research.