VICT3R (Developing and implementing VIrtual Control groups To reducE animal use in toxicology Research) is a public-private partnership funded by the European Innovative Health Initiative (IHI). The aim is to reduce animal use in toxicology research, improve scientific results and maintain higher ethical standards.

Researchers at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) have received funding form European Research Council (ERC). For their studies, they are using human induced pluripotent stem cells.

On October 9, 2024, a virtual event was held by the Federal Network 3R. Its topic this time was “Artificial intelligence and in-silico - trends in 3R research”. Numerous presentations were followed by a panel discussion with Prof. Lars Küpfer from the University Hospital Aachen, Charlott Danielson, from Fraunhofer Research Institution for for Individualized and Cell-based Medical Engineering IMTE, Dr. Sylvia Escher from Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Dr. Andreas Göller, Senior Science Fellow Computational Chemistry at Bayer AG as well as Prof. Thomas Hartung from the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

As the animal rights organization PETA USA reports in a recent press release, the international pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has decided to no longer carry out so-called forced swim tests with rats or mice.