Animal Experiments
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2025, published in July 2026, how many dogs and non-human primates were used in dedicated pharmacokinetic studies and dedicated cardiovascular safety studies in 2025; and what steps she is taking to reduce the use of those animals in such studies, in line with the commitments set out in the Replacing Animals in Science strategy.
Answered by Home Office
The annual statistics do not separately identify dedicated pharmacokinetic studies or dedicated cardiovascular safety studies. Pharmacokinetic procedures are reported within the wider “kinetics” category, which also includes toxicokinetic and residue depletion studies. It is therefore not possible to provide the requested figures from the published statistics.
The Government’s strategy, Replacing animals in science, sets targets to use validated alternative methods to reduce the use of dogs and non-human primates in dedicated pharmacokinetic studies for human medicines by at least 35% by 2030, and in dedicated cardiovascular safety studies by at least 50% by 2030.
The Government’s strategy sets out measures to accelerate the development, validation and adoption of alternative methods, increased research investment, the establishment of a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods, greater collaboration between regulators, researchers and industry, and work to support regulatory acceptance. It highlights technologies including artificial intelligence, organoids and three-dimensional cell systems as offering opportunities to reduce reliance on animals. Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, animals may be used only where no scientifically satisfactory non-animal method is available.
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