Resources Round-up

Abstract

Human Organ Atlas (https://human-organ-atlas.esrf.fr/)

an open data repository of multiscale 3D images of human organs.

a predictive toxicology platform that combines curated data with hundreds of validated QSAR models.

ABPI Report (https://www.abpi.org.uk/publications/from-models-to-medicines-a-landscape-review-of-human-relevant-pre-clinical-model-development-in-the-uk/)

a review on the stage of preclinical models developed within academia in the UK.

RSPCA Science (https://science.rspca.org.uk/researchanimals/reportsandresources/animaluse)

a joint action plan to initiate and drive non-animal science in the pharmaceutical industry.

STEP4NAMS (https://step4nams.nweurope.eu/)

a project to promote the use of NAMs by uniting partners from six North-Western European countries (DE, NL, FR, BE, IE, LU), building on their regional strengths to promote transnational cooperation.

CompTox Chemicals Dashboard (https://comptox.epa.gov/dashboard/)

a public, web-based tool providing comprehensive data on over one million chemicals.

The Science bank (https://thesciencebank.org/)

alternatives to animal use in education.

Replacing Animal Research (https://replacinganimalresearch.org.uk/resources/)

formerly known as Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME), it offers a variety of resources on the field.

Human Organ Atlas

Human tissue is inherently hierarchical, with cells, tissues and organs organised into intricate structures at many levels. This hierarchical organisation underpins functional properties, allowing both coordination and specialisation. Thus, knowledge of the 3D morphology and spatial distribution of biological structures at these multiple levels would be helpful to fundamental and applied research projects. While efforts to map the human body have been ongoing, an advanced technique that employs synchrotron X-ray tomography to create hierarchical image volumes of ex vivo intact human organs — i.e. hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT) — now permits the consistent and rapid creation of images of whole intact organs at 8–20 μm resolution, as well as region of interest zoom down to 1 μm.

As the required specialist equipment and expertise is located in France, at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the Human Organ Atlas (HOA) data portal was created to maximise the utility and impact of this imaging technique.^1,2 The HOA makes accessible multiscale 3D images of human organs, while also providing software tools and training resources. Features include open data download, search tools based on metadata, image/video galleries, browser-based visualisation, and registered hierarchical datasets. The HOA offers researchers, clinicians and educators a valuable resource for the study of human anatomy, providing access to intricate structures and spatial relationships for image analysis, medical education, and large-scale data mining.

References

1. Walsh CL, Brunet J, Stansby D, et al. The Human Organ Atlas. Sci Adv 2026; 12: eadz2240.

2. ESRF. The Human Organ Atlas, https://human-organ-atlas.esrf.fr/ (accessed 25 March 2026).

OrbiTox

Modern toxicology assessments rely on integrating extensive datasets from non-animal testing (e.g. in vitro assays, organs-on-chips or transcriptomics datasets). However, these data are of variable quality, often stored in heterogeneous formats, and kept in independent repositories. OrbiTox was developed to address this need for a unified platform capable of integrating these multi-domain datasets. It integrates millions of data points from multiple domains — i.e. chemical properties, genetic information, pathways and bioactivities — into an interactive 3D visualisation platform.¹ The user interface consists of straightforward menus and windows that are optimised for searching, filtering and exploring millions of multi-domain data points, enabling real-time visualisation with instantaneous updates. In addition, it includes quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models for gap-filling of key endpoints, and facilitates read-across by enabling the retrieval of data-rich chemical analogues with similar structures and metabolic profiles. The database currently includes over 850,000 chemicals, 40,000 genes, 2000 pathways and 200 test organisms.² Interestingly, OrbiTox integrates bioactivity data from both in vivo and in vitro sources, which permits the comparison of animal and non-animal data and is crucial for building confidence in non-animal approaches.

References

1. Ross A, Gombar V, Sedykh A, et al. OrbiTox: A visualization platform for NAMs and read-across exploration of multi-domain data. Front Pharmacol 2025; 16: 1710864.

2. Sciome. OrbiTox, https://orbitox.org/ (accessed 25 March 2026).

ABPI Report on preclinical models

A report produced by the UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) on the landscape of preclinical model development in the UK has been published.¹ The report focused on models developed within the UK academic setting, assessing their ability and readiness to be transferred for use by industry in the development of new medicines and vaccines. As part of this evaluation process, a translational readiness framework was developed through collaboration with industry scientists, in order to assess model development, performance and amenability to industry transfer. This assessment framework was then applied to a subset of UK academic models. In addition, stakeholder interviews with 30 senior scientists from across academia and industry were also carried out. The findings revealed a gap in the translational readiness of in vitro models developed by UK academia, highlighting that most models require further development before routine use in industry or in regulatory contexts. While pharmaceutical companies are also developing their own preclinical in vitro models, they were not included in this report due to confidentiality issues.

Reference

1. ABPI. From models to medicines: A landscape review of human-relevant pre-clinical model development in the UK, https://www.abpi.org.uk/publications/from-models-to-medicines-a-landscape-review-of-human-relevant-pre-clinical-model-development-in-the-uk/ (2026, accessed 25 March 2026).

Joint action plan for the pharmaceutical industry

A joint effort by the RSPCA, Eurogroup for Animals and several pharmaceutical companies has resulted in an action plan to accelerate the transition to non-animal science in the pharmaceutical sector.¹ The report outlines specific key actions for the pharmaceutical industry, alongside practical examples, to help expedite progress and maximise collaborations in the implementation of non-animal testing. It is acknowledged that this transition requires a wide range of expertise and input from many stakeholders, such as industry, regulators and animal welfare organisations. The action plan has been put together to help individual pharmaceutical companies initiate and drive this transition.

Reference

1. RSPCA Science. Action plan for companies to accelerate the transition to non-animal science in the pharmaceutical sector, https://science.rspca.org.uk/documents/d/science/final-version-action-plan-to-accelerate-non-animal-science-in-the-pharmaceutical-sector-2026- (2026, accessed 25 March 2026).