Less than two years after Indiana-based Inotiv agreed to pay the largest fine ever issued under the Animal Welfare Act, the company has once again been sanctioned for its experimentation on beagles.
Two dogs died at an Inotiv-owned Fort Collins, Colorado, laboratory after they were given an unnamed experimental drug, according to a March 24, 2026 inspection report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The federal agency issued a critical citation to Bronco Research Services because its written study protocol “did not address the minimal effects needed to meet the study’s goals” as required under the Animal Welfare Act.
“…The proposal must include a description of procedures designed to assure that discomfort and pain to animals will be limited to that which is unavoidable for the conduct of scientifically valuable research,” the report read in part.
Inotiv did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both animals were subjects in a “dose escalation study,” where a medication is given in increasing doses over time to find what’s both safe and effective. The dogs received the highest dose administered so far on Feb. 5, 2026. Two were seen by a veterinarian after researchers noted that both were “depressed and drooling.”
The next morning, staff found a female beagle named 1459785 dead. A male named 1524022 was euthanized after he was “found lethargic and minimally responsive.”
Even with lower doses of the medication, inspectors wrote, dogs had been suffering negative side effects including lethargy, vomiting and weight loss.
The report does not specify how many dogs in total were involved in the study, and it’s unclear if the study continued after the dogs’ deaths.
“Inotiv causes misery and death for animals everywhere it hangs a shingle, and every shack they operate should be run out of town and boarded up,” wrote Kathy Guillermo, senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Earlier in March, an inspection at an Inotiv-owned facility in Pennsylvania found subsidiary company Envigo liable for the death of 72 rabbits.
Inotiv’s parent company, Envigo RMS, is required to post regulators’ inspection reports to its own website under the terms of its June 2024 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The company pleaded guilty to animal welfare and water pollution crimes and paid more than $35 million.
More than 4,000 beagles were seized when its Cumberland, Virginia, breeding compound was shut down. The breed is commonly used in animal testing because it’s small, passive and friendly.
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana-based Inotiv cited after two beagles die during drug trial
Reporting by Ryan Murphy, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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