During the FDA-NIH Workshop: Reducing Animal Testing, held on July 7, 2025, Dr. Nicole Kleinstreuer, Acting NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, announced a groundbreaking policy change: “All new NIH funding opportunities moving forward should incorporate language on consideration of NAMs. NIH will no longer seek proposals exclusively for animal models.”
Dr. Kleinstreuer emphasized that this shift reflects not only scientific advancement but a strategic and ethical imperative to modernize biomedical research. “True impact really requires a workforce trained in modern methods and data-driven decision-making to ensure that the most effective tools are prioritized,” she said.
The NIH aims to establish a dedicated Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) to support the integration of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). This move builds on existing NIH efforts to scale technologies such as organoids, 3D bioprinting, AI-driven modeling, and microphysiological systems.
“It’s not about shutting down animal labs overnight,” Dr. Kleinstreuer explained. “We’re creating the policy, infrastructure, and partnerships that make sustainable adoption possible.”
NIH’s commitment marks a significant cultural and scientific shift toward more predictive, reproducible, and human-relevant research approaches—with the goal of transforming biomedical research from the ground up.
This sentiment reflects the NIH’s formal press release on April 29th, citing their plans to reduce animal use in NIH-funded research, which landed just days after the FDA’s announcement on April 10th, citing their commitment to reduce animal testing in drug development.
“Ushering in a new era of innovation”, the NIH’s press release acknowledges that human-based research technologies “offer unique strengths that, when used correctly or in combination (with animals), can expand the toolbox for researchers to answer previously difficult or unanswerable biomedical research questions.”
The NIH plans to establish the Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) to:
➡️ Coordinate efforts to develop, validate, and scale non-animal approaches across the agency
➡️Serve as a hub for interagency coordination and regulatory translation for public health protection.
➡️Expand funding and training in non-animal approaches and awareness of their value in translational success.
➡️Expand infrastructure to make non-animal approaches more accessible to researchers.
➡️Publicly report on research spending to measure progress toward reduced funding for animal studies and increased funding for human-based approaches.
View the full press release here: NIH to prioritize human-based research technologies | National Institutes of Health (NIH)
At CN Bio, we’ve spent over a decade developing and optimizing our PhysioMimix® OOC Systems and solutions, to better mimic human biology in the lab. These recent announcements affirm a transformative shift toward tools, such as OOC, which enable better predictivity and clinical translatability.