White Coat Waste has exposed how the National Institutes of Health is paying a company co-founded and run by billionaire Moderna co-founder Robert Langer to conduct cruel experiments on dogs and pigs to test an experimental weight-loss drug. These NIH Moderna beagle experiments, uncovered through FOIA requests, are part of a growing pattern of taxpayer-funded animal torture that watchdog groups say must end.
Trump’s DOGE Partnership with WCW Targets NIH Animal Torture
Working with the new Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), White Coat Waste (WCW) is already scoring major wins by exposing millions of dollars of taxpayer money used in cruel and wasteful animal testing in the US and abroad. Also, one of White Coat Waste’s top priorities for Trump and DOGE is slashing funding for laboratories worldwide that carry out cruel and unethical testing on cats and dogs.
Recently, White Coat Waste has exposed federal contracts funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense paying to torture 300 beagles PER WEEK in a Chinese lab.
White Coat Waste has sued the NIH to obtain receipts for decades of deadly septic shock experiments it conducted on puppies at a government lab in the nation’s capital. Now, WCW’s newest investigation reveals another preposterous waste of taxpayer dollars by the NIH: testing an Ozempic-like human weight loss drug on beagles.
NIH Gave $322,000+ to Moderna Billionaire’s Company for Dog Experiments
New federal contracts obtained by WCW via FOIA reveal that NIH-funded white coats are force-feeding beagles and pigs diet pills meant to replicate the effects of gastric bypass surgery.
Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), WCW has uncovered how in 2024, the NIH forked over $322,000 to a biotech company co-founded and run by Robert Langer, the billionaire co-founder of Moderna. WCW investigations followed the money and uncovered that Langer’s Syntis Bio is wasting our tax dollars to test an experimental weight loss drug on dogs and pigs.
FOIA Documents Reveal Tufts Lab Force-Feeding Beagles and Pigs
According to documents obtained by WCW via FOIA, Langer’s company is funneling tax money to a laboratory at Tufts University to force-feed beagles and pigs diet pills meant to replicate the effects of a gastric bypass surgery. However, the experiments are far from simple weight loss trials; these animals are constantly enduring various force-feedings, pokes, prods, and in many cases face a guaranteed and untimely death.
$349,000 More Slated for Animal Tests, Documents Show
Since last year, NIH has wasted more than $322,000 in taxpayer money on this project, and it plans to continue the testing until August 2025. The company has another active $349,000 grant for animal testing.
In just one year, the NIH has shelled out over $322,000 to Langer’s company for these outdated and cruel tests. According to documents obtained by WCW, NIH plans to continue the testing until August 2025 and may extend the funding. The company also secured another $349,000 grant, which it intends to spend on additional animal tests, including dog experiments.
White Coat Waste Demands End to All Federal Dog Testing
WCW is on a mission to end all taxpayer-funded experiments on dogs and is the only animal protection group to close federal dog labs in almost 20 years.
