News

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine provided more than $35,000 in simulation equipment to Kijabe Hospital in Kenya, its first international Medical Simulation Fund award, replacing freshly killed goats, chickens, and rabbits in surgical and microsurgery training with human-based technology.

Swiss tech-bio firm Atlas Bio launched from stealth with $12.5 million in total funding to develop an AI foundation model trained on roughly 2 million human RNA readouts that runs in silico clinical trials, aiming to replace Phase II trials and the animal studies that precede them.

Denver-based startup Intero Biosystems, which spun out of the University of Michigan, is selling human intestinal organoids to pharmaceutical, biotech, food, and chemical companies as a more human-relevant alternative to animal testing for drug safety and disease research.

The Transmitter reports that the seven federally funded U.S. national primate research centers, which collectively house roughly 28,000 monkeys, face flatlined federal funding for nearly two decades and mounting political pressure to end animal experimentation, even as China ramps up its own primate research investment.

Rise for Animals analyzes the NIH’s September 21, 2026 announcement of five initiatives to advance human-relevant science, cautioning that NIH still identifies animal models as an important tool, that NAM technologies can themselves drive animal exploitation, and that without mandatory animal-use reporting the effect on animal use cannot be measured.

The European Medicines Agency has endorsed a joint statement from the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities calling on medicine developers, manufacturers, regulators, and national control laboratories to advance and implement alternatives to animal testing throughout the lifecycle of human medicines, wherever and as soon as possible.

Rise for Animals analyzes the FDA’s September 21, 2026 direct final rule replacing “animal tests” and “animal studies” with “nonclinical tests” and “nonclinical studies,” arguing the rule is meaningful but reversible and urging passage of the FDA Modernization Act 3.0 to give the change statutory force.

Congressmen Mark Pocan and Nick Langworthy introduced the Companion Animal Protection Against Cruel Testing (COMPACT) Act, legislation that would prohibit the use of federal public-health research funds for biomedical research involving live dogs and cats and establish oversight, transparency, and rehoming provisions.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a direct final rule clarifying that non-animal methods can be used, where appropriate, to test the safety of drugs and biological products before human trials, and launched a database of 25 examples of New Approach Methodologies in drug review.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced agency-wide actions to accelerate the shift toward human-based research methods and reduce unnecessary animal testing, including more than 20 initiatives across NIH, FDA, CDC, and ARPA-H.

A new report by the Animal Alliance of Canada Fund reveals Canada’s DND has expanded its use of live piglets in military trauma training, despite commitments to modernize the Armed Forces and withholding 569 pages of records.

UK government unveils roadmap to phase out animal testing faster with new funding and regulatory commitments.

Ontario’s new animal research law introduces restrictions but includes loopholes that limit its impact on animal welfare.

NIH establishes ORIVA to accelerate human-based research and reduce animal use.

CAARE’s advocacy ends 25 years of baboon experiments at UMB, marking a victory for ethical science.

University of Saskatchewan researchers develop organoids to replace animal testing in tuberculosis and immunological studies.

Laser-assisted bioprinting supports NAM with human-relevant tissue models.

Genetic survey reveals widespread discrepancies in mouse models used for biomedical research.

Animal Rising challenges the UK government’s defense of animal testing and calls for the closure of MBR Acres, the UK’s only dog-breeding facility for laboratories.

Ontario’s Bill 75 includes Schedule 1, which amends the Animals for Research Act to prohibit invasive medical research on cats, dogs, and other prescribed animals, with limited exceptions and new conditions for other research.

LUSH Cosmetics partners with Animal Alliance of Canada to launch a national campaign against the use of dogs and cats in research.

Animal Alliance of Canada presents an introduction to New Approach Methodologies (NAM), highlighting their advantages over animal testing in research.

Inotiv partners with LifeNet Health to integrate TruVivo® platform for advancing NAM in drug discovery.

St. Joseph’s Hospital ends dog research after IJB investigation exposes inhumane practices