Tox News: February 2026

In January, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) published a research briefing on alternatives to animal use across the life sciences sector, highlighting both opportunities and challenges associated with developing and adopting these technologies. We were pleased to have the opportunity to provide evidence and contributions to POSTnote given our expertise and long-standing programmes working with researchers and organisations across the sector.

The Innovate UK/NC3Rs ‘Industrial human-relevant drug models’ Contracts for Innovation competition will support delivery of two priority targets from the UK Government’s 2025 alternatives strategy. £2M is available to accelerate industry adoption of non-animal approaches for pharmacokinetic prediction and cardiovascular safety studies and move towards replacing some dog and non-human primate use in drug development.

Applicant briefing webinar

Wednesday 4 March, 14.00 – 16.00 (GMT)
Innovate UK are holding an applicant briefing webinar – learn more about the scope of the call, timeframes and eligible projects.

In-person workshop   

Tuesday 10 March, 10.00 – 17.00, Central London
This pre-application workshop will bring scientists and stakeholders together to identify gaps and opportunities where replacement technologies could improve study outcomes, increase human relevance and minimise animal use in pharmacokinetic and cardiovascular safety studies. It will be an opportunity to discuss the competition with Innovate UK and the NC3Rs, take part in scientific discussions and meet potential project partners. 

Registrations close: Monday 2 March.

Tuesday 3 March, 13.00 – 14.00 (GMT)/14.00 – 15.00 (CET)

In the next instalment of their ‘Virtually Speaking’ webinar series, VICT3R are showcasing the NC3Rs Virtual Second Species CRACK IT Challenge, highlighting the development of the ‘Virtual Dog’. The Challenge aims to apply advances in computational approaches and machine learning to replace some long-term toxicity studies in dogs. Alexander Kulesza from ESQlabs will share the system architecture, current implementation status and future applications to improve prediction of chronic and idiosyncratic toxicities and reduce the need for long-term dog studies.

A team from aQuaTox Solutions GmbH and Eawag presented the outcomes from the SAFE CRACK IT Challenge to replace fish studies in chemical safety screening and environmental risk assessment, using novel biomarkers, in vitro rainbow trout cell data and machine learning models to predict reproductive toxicity. The team highlighted opportunities for collaboration to support further development, use or/and validation of their adverse outcome pathway approach. 

22 – 25 March, San Diego, USA

If you are attending, please come and see us at our booth in the ToxExpo exhibit hall!

Fiona will be chairing the workshop Reevaluating adversity and the maximum tolerated dose in the modern regulatory environment, where she will also be giving a talk on Refining humane endpoints by providing more objective guidance.

We will also be presenting the following posters: 

• Refining acute oral and inhalation toxicity testing: Current practices and opportunities.
• Analysis of the use of two species in regulatory toxicology studies for molecules following ICH M3(R2).

A new Current Opinion in Toxicology article provides expert perspectives on selecting dose levels for regulatory toxicity studies. It outlines how incorporating information on absorption, metabolism and mechanisms of action can support dose decisions that are both scientifically robust and better aligned with animal welfare considerations.

A new Animals article outlines findings from the largest survey to date examining behavioural management practices for laboratory housed non-human primates. Drawing on global survey responses and an extensive literature review, the paper reveals variation in approaches to social housing, enrichment and enclosure design across regions. It also highlights examples of good practice and opportunities for further refinement through continued international collaboration.

Tuesday 16 June, 9.00 – 18.00, Stevenage, UK

Hosted by Cambridge Alliance on Medicines Safety (CAMS) and the British Toxicology Society (BTS), this year’s DiscoTox meeting will focus on Mechanistic and discovery toxicology in the era of AI and NAMs. 

This free, interactive event will explore how in vitro and in silico approaches are being used to de-risk new drugs and emerging modalities. 

The agenda is currently in development, and the organisers are seeking suggestions for speakers and discussion topics.