ATCC Won Federal Contracts to Replace Animal Testing
The nonprofit will develop human-based organoid models to screen vaccines and pediatric cancer therapeutics.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Biotech
Live Poll
Should federal medical research prioritize human-based cell models over traditional animal testing methods?
The NIH and FDA awarded $8.3 million in new contracts to ATCC to advance human-relevant alternatives to animal testing. These research initiatives involve developing lung-on-a-chip and organoid systems to better simulate human disease states.
Why it matters
Federal agencies are prioritizing human-relevant models to modernize drug evaluation and increase the accuracy of vaccine and therapy screening. This shift addresses limitations in traditional animal testing by using systems that better reflect human biological responses.
ATCC secured $8.3 million for projects including lung, brain, and pediatric tumor models. The research leverages authenticated human cells, which a Nature study found exhibit 97.8% genetic concordance in tumor models, providing higher fidelity than previous methods.
The players
ATCC
A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization specializing in biological material authentication and human cell-based research models.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The federal agency overseeing research on infectious diseases and the development of vaccine countermeasures.
FDA Oncology Center of Excellence
A regulatory division that expedites the development and review of oncology products for human patients.
The details
The initiative utilizes microphysiological systems—laboratory-grown chips that mimic the physical and functional environment of human organs. By integrating these systems with the ATCC Genome Portal, researchers can pair physical cell behaviors with comprehensive genomic data. ATCC will build a human lung-on-a-chip for influenza testing, a brain-blood-barrier chip for antivirals, and cryopreserved organoid models for pediatric brain cancer.
Timeline
September 30, 2026: ATCC was selected for three new federal research contracts.
The Tech Race
These contracts accelerate the transition from animal-based testing to human-relevant alternatives in drug screening. This effort aligns with the FDA's broader push to replace traditional animal models with high-fidelity microphysiological systems.
These projects target long-term improvements in how pharmaceuticals are evaluated for safety and efficacy before clinical trials. While these developments are currently in the research phase, they aim to streamline the development of vaccines and pediatric cancer treatments.
The takeaway
The move toward human-simulated testing represents a significant transition in how agencies validate drug safety and efficacy. Watch for the completion of the three-year and four-year research milestones as ATCC delivers these platforms to federal investigators.
Further reading
For more on the shift toward human-relevant research, visit the Biotech section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Manila times.
Live Poll
Should federal medical research prioritize human-based cell models over traditional animal testing methods?
