Latest news from the NC3Rs: October 2026

This year’s International 3Rs Prize recognises advances in complex in vitro models that enable the replacement of animals and generate new insights into human disease. It is sponsored by GSK as part of its long-standing support of the Prize. With submissions spanning all three ‘Rs’ and representing researchers from the UK, Ireland, Europe and the USA, the breadth and quality of applications made the final decision especially challenging. Alongside the winner, the Panel have also recognised two highly commended publications.

• Winner: Engineering a leukaemia-on-chip platform for more predictive CAR T-cell research.
• Highly commended: Moving beyond mice in medulloblastoma research.
• Highly commended: Replacing animal studies in retinal degeneration gene therapy research.

We have launched a database of alternative methods and approaches to help identify opportunities for their use in regulatory safety assessment. This delivers a key part of Commitment 10 of the UK's Government’s strategy on replacing animals in science.  

The list is initially being published as an Excel spreadsheet with a consultation period for version one open until 22 January 2027.

Thursday 12 November, 9.00 – 10.00 (EST)/14.00 – 15.00 (GMT)

In this joint webinar hosted by the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI), a team from ESQlabs will present their progress developing computational modelling approaches to predict toxicological outcomes and reduce reliance on the use of dogs, funded by the NC3Rs Virtual Second Species CRACK IT Challenge. The webinar will provide an overview of recent scientific advances, key findings, ongoing challenges and next steps in the project, with a focus on the potential application of these approaches to support improved safety assessments.

Tuesday 24 November, 16.00 – 18.00 (GMT)

The NC3Rs Experimental Design Assistant (EDA) tool helps researchers at any level design robust in vivo experiments. During this interactive session Esther Pearl (Programme Manager – Experimental Design) will give a live demonstration of the EDA before answering your questions and providing personalised feedback as you design your own experiment.

Thursday 26 November, 12.00 – 13.00 (GMT)

Despite their widespread use in research, there remains relatively little published guidance on assessing and refining the welfare of laboratory frogs. Rue Jones-Green, Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer and Named Information Officer at the University of Cambridge, will discuss approaches to assessing Xenopus welfare and share practical refinements from her experience of working with these species on a day-to-day basis, that can be implemented within existing facilities.

Wednesday 4 November, 14.00 – 15.00 (GMT)

James Barker and Esther Pearl from the NC3Rs Experimental Design and Reporting team will be discussing our resources to support comprehensive reporting of in vivo and in vitro studies in this upcoming webinar organised by Responsible Research. Esther and James will introduce the ARRIVE guidelines and the DRIVER recommendations and explore how they can be used to improve the reliability of research, avoiding the wastage of animals and animal-derived materials in studies that are poor quality or not reproducible.

Tuesday 8 December, 9.30 – 15.15, London

This annual event from the RSCPA Animals in Science Department is open to all members of an Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB). The programme covers providing ethical advice, the use of arthropods in research, reflections 12 months on from the UK's Government’s strategy on replacing animals in science and successes and challenges faced by lay AWERB members. Through an interactive workshop session, Genevieve Barr (NC3Rs Science Manager – Communications) will discuss confidently communicating replacement and supporting conversations about model selection.