A worker displays white mice climbing
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Lizzy Lawrence leads STAT’s coverage of the Food and Drug Administration. She was previously a medical devices reporter. You can reach Lizzy on Signal at lizzylaw.53.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday announced several initiatives to try to reduce reliance on animal testing in drug development. 

The Food and Drug Administration released draft guidance meant to help drug companies explore new ways to assess the safety and efficacy of their products without using animals. And the National Institutes of Health said it has offered more than $150 million to institutions working on new research methods that better simulate human biology. 

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HHS has made reducing animal testing a priority over the past year. In April 2025, the FDA announced it would phase out the animal testing requirement for monoclonal antibodies. A few months later, the NIH said it would no longer fund research projects that rely solely on animal testing.  

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