The beginning of the summer has brought some encouraging news for everyone working to reduce animal use in safety assessment.
After a series of preparatory workshops over the last 3 years and as a direct result of the successful “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics” European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), which gathered over 1.2 million signatures, the European Commission published its Roadmap towards Phasing Out Animal Testing for Chemical Safety Assessments on 1 June 2026, outlining a long-term vision for the future of safety assessment in Europe. On the same day, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) released its latest report on the Use of Alternatives to Animal Testing under REACH.
For the VICT3R consortium, these publications are particularly relevant. The roadmap identifies Virtual Control Groups (VCGs) as one of the approaches that can help reduce the use of control animals in repeated-dose toxicity studies, while the accompanying Commission Staff Working Document explicitly references VICT3R as a key initiative advancing VCGs.
VICT3R recognised in the roadmap
The Staff Working Document highlights the development of approaches such as VCGs as part of the medium-term actions needed to reduce reliance on animal testing:
“…Foster the research and development of new approaches such as virtual control group (e.g. VICT3R), to further reduce non-rodent use.”
The document also identifies the development and implementation of VCGs as a recommended action in areas where animal studies cannot yet be fully replaced:
“Developing and implementing virtual control groups to further reduce animal use in the in vivo toxicity studies that cannot be waived. Ongoing project: VICT3R on virtual control group in the human medicine sector.”
For the VICT3R consortium, it is encouraging to see both the concept of VCGs and the work being carried out by VICT3R reflected in the Commission’s vision for the future of safety assessment.
A realistic pathway towards reducing animal use
One aspect that stands out in the roadmap is its practical approach. While the long-term ambition remains the replacement of animal testing, the document recognises that progress can also come from approaches that reduce and refine animal use where replacement is not yet possible.
The roadmap highlights the role that historical data, artificial intelligence, improved study design and regulatory innovation can play in this transition. Within this context, VCGs are recognised as a potential tool for reducing the number of control animals used in repeated-dose toxicity studies.
This is exactly the challenge that VICT3R was created to address.
ECHA highlights the importance of historical data
The publication of the roadmap was accompanied by ECHA‘s latest report on the Use of Alternatives to Animal Testing under REACH.
Among its key messages, the report highlights the increasing value of historical data and data reuse in regulatory decision-making. At the same time, it acknowledges that complex endpoints such as repeated-dose toxicity remain difficult to replace fully. These are challenges are just being afforded by VICT3R. By combining historical control data with advanced statistical and AI-based approaches, the project aims to reduce animal use while maintaining confidence in study interpretation and regulatory decision-making.
Cross-sector relevance
Although VICT3R is currently demonstrating the use of VCGs in the pharmaceutical sector, interest in the approach is growing across a much wider range of regulatory fields.
The use of historical control data is attracting increasing attention in chemical risk assessment, and discussions around the potential use of VCGs are taking place across multiple regulatory sectors. As an example of this growing interest, VICT3R recently participated in an ECHA Science Seminar exploring the practical application of Virtual Control Groups in preclinical toxicity studies. Read more here.
Part of a broader European effort
As a Transitional Initiative catalogued by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), VICT3R is contributing to a broader European effort to advance innovative approaches that can reduce reliance on animal testing.
Over the course of the project, the VICT3R consortium has been building the data resources, scientific evidence, tools and regulatory dialogue needed to assess whether VCGs can become a practical option for reducing animal use in regulatory studies.
The recognition of VCGs in the Commission roadmap, together with the growing focus on historical data and data reuse across Europe, suggests that approaches such as those being explored in VICT3R are becoming increasingly relevant to the future of safety assessment of drugs and chemicals.
