The development of sophisticated alternatives to animal testing — organoids, organ-on-chip, computer models, and cell cultures — is accelerating, with potential to dramatically reduce research animal welfare costs.
Alternatives to animal testing represent the most profound long-term transformation possible for laboratory animal welfare — not improving conditions for animals in research but eliminating the need for them in specific applications. Organ-on-chip technology, sophisticated organoid models, and AI-powered computational approaches are achieving predictive accuracy for human outcomes that in some cases exceeds animal models precisely because they use human biology. The scientific case for alternatives is increasingly aligned with the welfare case. Investment in alternatives development is investment in the long-term reduction of laboratory animal numbers and the welfare costs of their use.