PETA Applauds FDA, NIH Whopping $150 Million Investment in Animal-Free Research

For Immediate Release:
March 18, 2026

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from Dr. Emily Trunnell, Director of Science Advancement and Outreach at PETA, regarding today’s announcement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to invest $150 million in non-animal research methods that are more likely to yield cures and treatments for humans. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also released a draft guidance to help drug developers use non-animal methods to bring safe, effective drugs to market sooner based on human-centric data:

PETA is celebrating the Trump administration’s newest push, backed by a substantial financial investment, to promote and support the best science—and that means animal-free research. PETA scientists presented evidence to the National Institutes of Health on the failures of experiments on animals in cardiovascular, gynecological, and neurological research, and the need to support human-relevant methods in these fields and others. As the new hubs get up to speed, the futile animal studies that came before them should end immediately. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released guidance that clarifies the use of reliable and relevant non-animal methods to encourage industry to submit these approaches. PETA thanks NIH, the FDA, and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for their leadership in moving the national health agencies away from caging, poisoning, harming, and killing animals in experimentation that have failed patients.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.