TO BE PUBLISHED July 2026
Starting from:
£99 + VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference will examine implementation of the UK Government’s Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published in November 2025. We expect discussion to focus on priorities and practicalities for accelerating the use of non-animal methods while maintaining confidence in patient safety, regulatory reliability, and scientific standards, alongside continued progress on animal welfare.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers to consider the strategy’s proposed governance and delivery framework, including the role of the new alternative methods committee, cross-government coordination, and the development of metrics and reporting arrangements for tracking progress. As implementation begins, the discussion will draw out latest thinking on issues across research funding, regulatory practice, skills, validation, and data infrastructure, and considerations for organisations across life sciences as they look at implications for investment, adoption, and delivery.
Regulation, validation & data
Delegates will assess the way forward for scaling non-animal methods, including validation, regulatory acceptance, and the practical use of data in research and submissions. Discussion is expected on alignment of UK guidelines with international standards, opportunities for earlier engagement between developers, industry and regulators, and the requirements for wider use of non-animal methods in areas where animal data may still remain necessary.
Attendees will also consider how confidence in reliability, reproducibility and safety can best be supported during transition, with attention to concerns raised by some industry stakeholders around evidence standards and decision-making, and calls from animal welfare organisations for faster progress in reducing the use of severe procedures.
Innovation, funding & workforce capability
Further sessions will consider priorities for innovation and funding allocation, including implications for smaller companies and academic labs facing high validation costs or uneven access to infrastructure. Delegates will discuss practical adoption requirements for methods such as AI-enabled modelling, organ-on-a-chip systems and 3D bioprinting, alongside options for avoiding a divide in access between major pharmaceutical companies, smaller firms and the research base.
We expect discussion on workforce capability and training, including the role of NC3Rs-led programmes, the skills needed across research, regulation and commercialisation, and priorities for supporting career pathways as the use of non-animal methods expands.
Strategy, oversight & implementation timetable
Sessions will examine the strategy’s phased milestones and what will be needed in delivery, accountability and oversight if implementation is to be effective across government, regulators, funders, industry and research institutions. We expect this to include discussion of incentives for universities, publishers and funders to support wider use of non-animal approaches, as well as the practicalities of change for parts of the research system where animal methods continue to play a role.
The agenda will also consider wider issues around the pace and sequencing of reform, including differing views on whether the roadmap should move towards a firmer long-term phase-out framework, and how ethical concerns, operational constraints and scientific uncertainty should be addressed as policy develops.
International alignment, competitiveness & public engagement
The conference will also look at how the UK positions itself internationally as regulation and investment in non-animal methods develop elsewhere. Delegates will consider implications of reforms in other jurisdictions, including changes in the United States, and priorities for international cooperation, harmonisation and advocacy to support innovation and competitiveness in life sciences without lowering ethical or scientific standards.
Public engagement and transparency will also be discussed, including how the roadmap relates to wider life sciences policy, how progress can be communicated credibly, and what will be needed to maintain confidence among patients, researchers, investors, and organisations concerned with animal welfare.
Overview of areas for discussion
- implementing the 2025 strategy: governance arrangements - phased milestones - cross-government coordination - effective ethical, scientific and operational delivery
- regulation and validation: evidence requirements - regulatory confidence - international guideline alignment - practical pathways for wider acceptance of non-animal methods
- data and submissions: use of data assets - secure access - earlier engagement with regulators - implications for research and drug development
- funding and infrastructure: allocation of investment - access to shared facilities - support for small and medium-sized enterprises and academic labs - reducing barriers to adoption
- innovation and adoption: AI-enabled modelling - organ-on-a-chip - 3D bioprinting - translational readiness - practical requirements for wider use
- workforce capability: upskilling scientists and technologists - training across research and regulation - support for emerging career pathways
- strategy and oversight: accountability mechanisms - delivery across departments, regulators and funders - options for measuring progress
- ethics and pace of change: reduction commitments - transparency - differing views on timelines - welfare considerations where animal procedures continue
- international alignment and competitiveness: avoiding duplicative testing - learning from overseas reforms - positioning the UK in human-relevant life sciences
- public confidence and engagement: transparency - communication of progress - the relationship between reform, trust and wider life sciences priorities
