Investigation into supercharged virus experiment questions what types of risky research taxpayer-funded agencies are willing to green light

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), on behalf of the Health and Oversight Subcommittee Republicans, today wrote to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting Director Lawrence Tabak.

The letter makes a final request for the following documents by October 31 or a subpoena will be issued:

1. All proposals and progress reports discussing the mpox gene transfer experiments. 
2. All documents related to the consideration of any mpox gene transfer research.
3. All documents related to the reviews of the mpox gene transfer research by the Institutional Biosafety Committee. 
4. All documents related to Federal Select Agent inspections related to the Moss laboratory’s possession of Clade 1 mpox viruses. 
5. All documents related to the Science magazine articles published on September 15, 2022, and October 19, 2022, including communications between NIH and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) or Science magazine. 
6. A copy of the document used by Dr. Tabak in response to a question on mpox research at the hearing on February 8, 2023, held jointly by the Subcommittee on Health and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 

BACKGROUND:

November 2022: Energy and Commerce Republicans opened an investigation into NIH experiments using more lethal mpox viruses after Dr. Bernard Moss, the leading pox researcher at NIH’s National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, gave an interview to Science magazine discussing a specific mpox project that swapped genes between a more lethal version and a more transmissible version of mpox: 

Moss has been trying for years to figure out the crucial difference between two variants of monkeypox virus: clade 2, which until recently was found only in West Africa and is now causing the global outbreak, and clade 1, believed to be much deadlier, which has caused outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo for many decades. He’s found that clade 1 virus can kill a mouse at levels 1000 times lower than those needed with clade 2. To find out why, Moss and his colleagues swapped dozens of clade 2 genes, one at a time, into clade 1 virus, hoping to see it become less deadly, but with no luck so far. Now, they are planning to try the opposite, endowing clade 2 virus with genes from its deadlier relative. 

March 2023: After being informed by NIH that the Committee would need to resubmit oversight requests from the previous Congress, Energy and Commerce Republicans renewed the request.

May 2023: Upon receiving a response from NIH that lacked any explanation and noted simply that the proposal did not go forward, Energy and Commerce Republicans requested a videotaped, transcribed interview with Dr. Moss. 

July 2023: Following a letter response, purportedly written by Dr. Moss, that raised more questions and inconsistencies, Energy and Commerce Republicans re-upped their request for a sit-down with Dr. Moss. 

October 2023: Energy and Commerce Republicans are now sending a final request after determining information provided by the NIH is still insufficient for compliance with legitimate oversight requests. The NIH’s written responses did not adequately address the Members’ questions, and NIH limited Majority Committee staff to only 20 minutes of questioning during a brief in-person briefing.