News on non-animal methods
APRIL 06 - 10 2026
NEWS, REPORTS & POSITION STATEMENTS
1. Novo Nordisk principal scientist highlights the urgency of advancing human-relevant 3D tissue models
As regulatory momentum accelerates globally to reduce reliance on animal testing, leading experts in microphysiological systems (MPS), complex in vitro models (CIVMs), organoids, and organ‑on‑chip technologies are preparing to gather at the 11th 3D Tissue Models Summit, taking place April 28 – 30, 2026 in Boston. The summit serves as the only industry‑led meeting dedicated entirely to advancing physiologically relevant in vitro systems and scaling their adoption across drug discovery and development.
As part of the event’s speaker interview series, Rachelle Prantil‑Baun, Principal Scientist at Novo Nordisk, sat down to discuss why this year’s meeting is particularly pivotal for the community working on modernizing preclinical science.
2. Standardizing NAMs: Why the field needs a unified voice before regulation can catch up
As Non‑Animal Models (NAMs) move rapidly from specialist innovation into mainstream drug development, the field is facing a growing mismatch between scientific capability and regulatory readiness. The Industry Alliance for Microphysiological Systems (IAMPS), the world’s first dedicated Microphysiological Systems (MPS) industry association, was established to address this gap.
Few voices can speak to this challenge with the clarity and authority of Dr. Madhu Lal‑Nag, the chief scientific officer at InSphero and former director of the Trans NIH RNAi Facility at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS/NIH). Drawing on her dual vantage point, Lal‑Nag explains why NAMs have outpaced the shared language and evidence regulators need, why misconceptions are proliferating, and how new coalitions can lay the foundation for credible guidance. Her insights provide a grounded, practical view on what must happen before policy can truly catch up.
3. 2025 EURL ECVAM Status Report
Recently published, the 2025 EURL ECVAM Status Report presents a comprehensive overview of the European Union Reference Laboratory recent advancements in the development, validation, and regulatory integration of non-animal methods. This report highlights innovative scientific breakthroughs including organ-on-chip technologies, artificial intelligence, and multi-omics approaches that collectively enhance the predictivity, efficiency, and ethical standards of safety assessment.
With the European Commission preparing to publish a roadmap for phasing out animal testing, this status report serves as a critical resource documenting scientific, regulatory, societal, and economic progress.
Read more and download the report
4. Next-generation discovery: Empowering organoid research with computational approaches
Organoids have rapidly matured into powerful model systems. The field is pushing organoids toward architectural sophistication and functional fidelity, with longitudinal experiments producing ever-larger and more complex datasets. As a result, computational methods have become indispensable for experimental design, data analysis, and predictive modeling, as well as for obtaining mechanistic insights.
In a review published in Trends in Biotechnology, Elena S. Reckzehet al. survey recent progress at the interface of organoid research and computational approaches, discuss key challenges on both fronts, and outline future directions to maximize impact in biomedical research through convergent, synergistic efforts.
5. Engineering human biology on chips: How “human-like” can we become?
A recent report from the third stakeholder workshop of the global MPS community outlines a five-year roadmap detailing what chip-based single- and multi-organ engineering could achieve in various user segments by following a proposed technology convergence.
The twenty one authors, representing all relevant stakeholder groups from nine countries, envisioned the broad, informed authorization of new drugs and therapies based on data derived from human MPS by 2035. In this opinion paper, the authors highlight three major challenges remaining in the development of MPS: organismoids on chips, pregnancy-on-chips, and automated artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted MPS twin generation.
INTERVIEWS, NOMINATIONS & AWARDS
6. NIH funding: New data hub to advance alternatives to animal testing
A research team at NYU Langone Health and Sage Bionetworks has been awarded a $25 million grant to establish the data hub and coordinating center for the National Institutes of Health’s Complement-Animal Research in Experimentation (Complement-ARIE) program.
The award will establish the NYU-Sage NAMs Data Hub and Coordination Center (NYU-Sage NDHCC), which will enable the standardization, harmonization, and sharing of datasets — from molecular tests to 3D cultures to simulated population outcomes — using a cloud architecture. The NYU-Sage NDHCC will also foster collaboration among all components of the Complement-ARIE consortium.
TOOLS, PLATFORMS, CALLS
7. Inaugural International Conference on Organoid Intelligence (ICOI) & call for abstracts
Recognizing the transformative potential of Organoid Intelligence (OI), the Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing has established a dedicated website and the OI community as a central hub for researchers, technologists, ethicists, and policymakers. The Inaugural International Conference on Organoid Intelligence (ICOI) will take place the 26 – 27 of October, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Abstract submissions for the ICOI are open, however submissions are limited. Once maximum capacity is reached, submission will not be accepted.
Read more on the event and submit your abstract
Check out our calls interface
INDUSTRY, BIOTECH & PARTNERSHIPS
8. Anthropic’s $400M acquisition of Coefficient Bio: A deeper push into drug discovery
The San Francisco – based frontier AI lab has acquired Coefficient Bio, a stealth New York-based biotech AI startup, in a stock deal valued at just over $400 million, according to reporting from Newcomer and The Information. The deal brings a team of fewer than 10 people, most of them former Genentech computational biology researchers, into Anthropic’s healthcare and life sciences division.
The acquisition marks an escalation in Anthropic’s life sciences strategy. The company announced Claude for Life Sciences last October. With Coefficient Bio, Anthropic is absorbing a team that was building biology-specific AI models from the ground up, with ambitions the startup described as nothing less than “artificial superintelligence for science”.
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES & PROTOCOLS
9. First comparison of commercial systems to prepare nanofat
Nanofat is a relatively recent fat grafting technique obtained involving the mechanical emulsification of adipose tissue whose preparation is produced at the patient’s bedside. Although it was initially reported to improve skin quality in intradermal applications, it is now increasingly used in regenerative medicine. However, the absence of standardized protocols and the diversity of commercial devices result in nanofat products of variable quality.
A recent collaborative study involving the French startup ExAdEx-Innov, winner of the DVES Jury Prize, presents the first comprehensive comparison of nanofat obtained from different commercially available preparation systems, combining both their technical performance and biological characterization. Lipoaspirates from five healthy donors were processed using eight commercially available devices for nanofat production using emulsification or micronization techniques.
Read more in Scientific reports
10. IQ-MPS Affiliate perspectives on blood-brain barrier microphysiological systems: Progress and challenges ahead
The endothelial cells of the capillary network in the brain, in conjunction with pericytes and astrocyte end feet, form the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Microphysiological systems (MPS) and other complex in vitro models aim to address the challenges of reproducing cell-cell interactions, the human brain microenvironment, and transporter abundance and type by combining engineered shear forces coupled with cell biology advancements to create models with greater predictive power.
Members of the Innovation & Quality Microphysiological Systems Affiliate (IQ MPS) provided an industry perspective on the application of MPS to test drug delivery to the brain, including on newer modalities such as targeted protein degraders, biologics, nanoparticles, and viruses. They also highlighted important considerations for MPS model qualification centered on cell sourcing, technological platform, and qualification of functionality. This commentary also aimed to highlight areas where developers and suppliers can help address gaps in model development.
11. Inter-individual variability for NAM-based systemic safety toolbox
Next-Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA) frameworks use NAMs to support regulatory decisions without animal testing. While NAM-based approaches are well established for hazard and dose-response assessment, inter-individual variability is still typically addressed using default uncertainty factors for inter-individual variability. This study evaluated a NAM-based strategy to quantify chemical-specific variability using a human cell model.
Using 131 human lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from four European and African subpopulations, they assessed differences in cytotoxic responses to 53 substances, including industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and consumer-use compounds. The study shows that human LCLs are a practical high-throughput in vitro model for quantifying inter-individual variability, strengthening confidence in NGRA risk predictions and supporting hypothesis generation on chemical-specific genetic and mechanistic drivers of human variability. However, cell-based systems have limited coverage of adverse effects and require careful alignment with in vivo dosimetry.
Read more in Toxicological Sciences
12. NAMs in non-clinical safety assessment of vaccines
A new review focuses on the application of NAMs in vaccine development, detailing organizational frameworks and their implementation, and exploring approaches for harmonized adoption across the vaccine industry and regulatory bodies globally. The authors highlight how NAMs can be positioned at critical stages of vaccine development, from early safety assessment to mechanistic investigations.
With regulatory bodies encouraging NAMs adoption, they recommend a sequential transition: first reducing animal usage through NAMs-supported accelerated approaches, then progressing towards complete replacement. This strategic implementation could revolutionize vaccine safety assessment while ensuring scientific integrity and regulatory validation.
WORTH (RE)SHARING
EMA consults on virtual control groups to help reduce animal use in medicines development – Consultation is open until 12 May 2026
The Rise of AI Agents in Biotech, Where Are We Now?
Review on NAMs for drug discovery conducted by Joseph C. Wu, Director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute
Adopting NAMs: the STEP4NAMs training platform is launched
ToxIndex agentic AI platform — Smarter data, Safer chemistry
UPCOMING WEBINARS, WORKSHOPS, SYMPOSIA
2026 MPS World Summit (26 – 29 May 2026, Washington DC): New Program Additions
