NAMs News
MAY 25 - 29, 2026
NEWS, REPORTS & POSITION STATEMENTS
1. Endometriosis research shifts toward earlier diagnosis and personalized treatment
Despite affecting roughly 190 million people worldwide, endometriosis remains both under-recognized and under-diagnosed, with many women waiting nearly a decade before receiving a diagnosis. After decades of limited progress, endometriosis research is beginning to change.
Companies such as Endogene Bio, GynQura Therapeutics, and Cyclana Bio illustrate how scientific advances are moving into practical application. By combining patient-derived models, multi-scale data integration, and drug-response modelling, they are pushing toward a future where endometriosis care is personalized, less invasive, and more effective.
2. ECHA Report on REACH Regulation: Alternatives to animal testing are now used more often than experimental animal studies
ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) just published its sixth report that reviews how alternatives to animal testing are being used under the EU REACH chemicals regulation and outlines the transition toward a future animal-testing-free regulatory system. The report combines quantitative analysis of REACH registration dossiers (2008 – 2025) with a strategic overview of ECHA’s work on New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).
Key messages from this report are: 1/ Alternatives to animal testing are now used more often than experimental animal studies ; 2/ REACH still relies heavily on legacy animal data ; 3/ The clearest progress is seen in endpoints where validated non-animal methods have become regulatory standard ; 4/ High-tier toxicology remains a major challenge for full replacement ; 5/ Number of newly registered substances has sharply declined. One of the most important forward-looking developments is the creation of the Collaborative Platform on Alternatives to Animal Testing (CP-AAT).
3. Accelerating AOP development with AI: A practical roadmap for the community
The Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) framework is a cornerstone of next-generation risk assessment (NGRA), providing a mechanistic basis for integrating NAMs into regulatory decision-making. As computational, predictive, and meta-analytic approaches increasingly rely on AOP-Wiki content, the scarcity of high-quality AOPs has downstream implications, including reduced model robustness and the risk of misleading inferences. Similarly, the limited availability of reviewed and endorsed AOPs remains a significant bottleneck for wider regulatory uptake.
In a new viewpoint, the authors discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) could help accelerate AOP development and maturation towards regulatory endorsement, while also addressing critical challenges such as transparency, reproducibility, expert oversight, and AI hallucinations.
4. AI snake oil? A risk/benefit analysis for toxicology
AI applications in toxicology now cover areas such as Green Toxicology, the Human Exposome, and the safety assessment of biologics and synthetic peptides. However, despite promising technical results, AI has not yet gained widespread regulatory acceptance because concerns remain about model transparency, data quality, bias, and the lack of robust external validation.
In a new theory article published in Frontiers, Prof. Hartung and colleagues argue that AI should be viewed neither as a miracle solution nor as overhyped technology, but as a powerful support tool for modern toxicology when rigorously validated. They propose a framework based on the TREAT principles — Trustworthiness, Reproducibility, Explainability, Applicability, and Transparency — combined with continuous “e‑validation” throughout a model’s life cycle. According to the authors, AI methods that meet these standards could gain regulatory trust and help advance more predictive, scalable, and ethical toxicological science.
INTERVIEWS, NOMINATIONS & AWARDS
5. Announcing the winners of the NIH Replication Prize: Shaping the future of rigorous science
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced the winners of the NIH Replication Prize. This prize competition was launched to recognize and reward progress in making important areas of biomedical research more replicable, and to encourage a culture change where replication activities are normalized as a standard part of the scientific process.
After a rigorous review by a multidisciplinary panel of judges, the NIH has selected winners for Track 1: Replication Ideas and Track 2: Replication Exemplars. Together, these awards total $55,000. On May 13th, 2026, NIH held a virtual awards ceremony to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the Prize winners.
Read more and discover the winners
Watch the Prize Virtual Ceremony
TOOLS, PLATFORMS, CALLS
6. Innovative Health Initiative Call Days – call 13
The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) publishes information on future call topics a few months ahead of the official call launch, to give additional time to find or build a consortium and prepare a strong proposal. The following topics are under consideration for inclusion in IHI call 13, for a launch in summer 2026 :
- IHI European healthcare incubator network
- An AI foundation toxicology model and framework to support waiving a second species in drug safety studies
- Decode the immuno-science of age-related mediated diseases
Anyone interested in these topics is strongly encouraged to start preparing a proposal and get networking with potential partners. IHI will hold info sessions from 24 to 30 June 2026 online and will include sessions on the individual topics as well as the rules and procedures.
7. National survey on alternative methods in France: Call for contributions
A new longitudinal survey to better understand the evolution and use of alternative methods – also known as NAMs – in France, has been launched this week. This is a joint initiative conducted by the GIS FC3R and the Pro Anima Scientific Committee.
The survey is intended for all researchers and research staff from public or private institutions using NAMs, either alone or alongside in vivo models: in vitro, in silico, organoids, organs-on-chips, AI, modeling, etc. The questionnaire takes approximately 10 – 15 minutes to complete. A large number of responses is essential to obtain a realistic overview and help advance NAMs in France. The survey is open until October 1st, 2026.
To see more calls: Check out our calls interface
INDUSTRY, BIOTECH & PARTNERSHIPS
8. InSphero accelerates global growth and US expansion with acquisition of PhenoVista Biosciences
InSphero, global leader in advanced 3D in vitro models and services for drug safety and efficacy testing, announced the acquisition of California-based PhenoVista Biosciences, Inc., a premier provider of high-content imaging and phenotypic assay technologies and services.
“Over the past 17 years, InSphero has built a strong reputation for scientific excellence, operational robustness, and innovation in predictive in vitro biology. With PhenoVista joining InSphero, we are adding highly complementary expertise, an exceptional team, and a stronger operational presence in the US market. Most importantly, this acquisition allows us to serve our customers even better by combining cutting-edge biology with advanced imaging and phenotypic analysis in an increasingly integrated way with fast turn-around times.” says Dr. Jan Lichtenberg, CEO and Co-founder at InSphero.
9. QIAGEN to advance AI-driven drug discovery
Drug discovery depends on connecting large amounts of complex biological information, including genes, diseases, pathways, compounds and clinical evidence. For many research teams, the challenge is finding the most relevant connections amid increasing amounts of data to understand why they matter and assess whether an AI-generated insight is supported by credible biology.
QIAGEN and NVIDIA are working to address this challenge through graph-based AI. This approach applies retrieval and reasoning techniques over biomedical knowledge graphs, allowing researchers to explore evidence across biological systems and supporting a path toward agentic, multi-step workflows for drug discovery.
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES & PROTOCOLS
10. Modeling Friedreich’s ataxia with Bergmann glia-enriched human cerebellar organoids
The human cerebellum is implicated in various neurological and psychiatric diseases, but its complex development and cellular diversity have posed challenges for in vitro modeling.
A new scientific publication reports the generation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cerebellar organoids (hCBOs) that are characterized by induction of rhombomere 1 cellular identity and produce various neuronal cell types resembling granule neurons, Purkinje cells, Golgi neurons, and deep cerebellar nuclei. By generating hCBOs from patients with Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA), the authors reveal disease-specific phenotypes that can be reversed by histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and gene editing by CRISPR-Cas9. Taken together, these advanced hCBO models provide new opportunities to investigate the mechanisms of cerebellar ontogenesis and utilize patient-derived iPSCs for translational research.
Read the article in communications biology
11. MLMEA for monitoring electrophysiological signals of 3D neural networks in cerebral organoid
Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) are tools used to record electrical activity from neurons, and they are widely used in neuroscience research. In recent years, brain organoids have become important for studying how neural networks form and function. However, most existing MEAs are flat and can only record activity from one surface, which limits their ability to capture the full 3D structure of organoids.
Researchers developed a new multilayer microelectrode array (MLMEA) that can record neural activity at different depths inside brain organoids. This system stacks multiple electrode layers separated by flexible materials, allowing simultaneous recordings across several levels of the tissue. The device successfully monitored stable and increasing neural activity over several weeks, revealing differences between layers and providing a more complete view of brain-like network behavior.
Read the article in Microsystems & Nanoengineering
12. Skin organoid diversity and applications in biomedical research
Skin organoid models could transform healthcare by enabling patient-specific skin models and accelerating the advancement of precision tissue repair and drug evaluation. The application of skin organoid models in the biomedical field is of great significance for the treatment of rare diseases such as genetic diseases, the tissue repair of large wounds caused by scleroderma or frostbite, and patient-specific drug screening.
A new review explores the future direction of skin organoid development to address existing issues of structural incompleteness, standardization, and reproducibility. While skin organoids need to continue to increase their complexity by introducing more advanced structures such as vascular, neural, and immune components, a standardized operation process needs to be established to improve the reproducibility and quality of skin organoid production, to optimize nutritional conditions, and to extend the culture time to obtain more mature skin organoids.
Read the review in Cell Biomaterials
WORTH (RE)SHARING
The Animal Welfare Intergroup discussed the Biotech Act I at the European Parliament in Strasbourg – Take home from Julia Ponchat
How automated CRISPR genome editing in human stem cells advances research – Event Replay by Lonza
Novo Nordisk research chief discusses streamlined R&D, asset integration and role of AI – Q&A in Endpoints News
Scaling Artificial Intelligence in Health – An OECD Report
UPCOMING WEBINARS, WORKSHOPS, SYMPOSIA
Animal-Free Chemical Safety Assessment and Roadmap Implementation conference – June 1 – 3, 2026, Brussels (Belgium) and online
PEPR MED-OOC’s 2nd Annual Scientific Meeting – June 1 & 2, 2026, Lille (France)
Hands-On Training Workshop on Alternatives to Animal Models 2026 – June 2 – 5, 2026, Mumbai (India)
PrecisionTox Café Scientifique: Data Sustainability Across ASPIS – June 2, 2026, 3:00pm CEST, online
