Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to accelerate the replacement of animal experiments with techniques such as the use of organ-on-a-chip technology and computer modelling.

The Government actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs).  This is achieved primarily through funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs), which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of 3Rs technologies and ensure that advances in the 3Rs are reflected in policy, practice, and regulations on animal research. Since the NC3Rs was launched in 2004, it has committed £100 million in research to develop 3Rs technologies.

In addition to funding the NC3Rs, UKRI also funds a portfolio of research projects involving humans, human materials, animal models, and non-animal technologies. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and NC3Rs have recently launched a £4 million joint funding call focussed on supporting next generation non-animal technologies, such as organ-on-a-chip and computer modelling, to work towards providing more reliable and applicable alternatives to reduce the use of animals in research.