Published June 15, 2026 by PETA Staff.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) just announced the establishment of a new office dedicated to reliable and relevant non-animal science!

According to today’s NIH press release, the new Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) will advance human-relevant, non-animal science.

ORIVA will include a division focused on advancing non-animal approaches to regulatory toxicity testing and another focused on biomedical research. The new office will coordinate efforts to develop and validate non-animal test methods and provide funding and training on non-animal science—efforts that PETA scientists have supported and advanced for many years.

Changes PETA scientists championed start to take hold as momentum builds.

Each year, more than 110 million animals are used in research and testing in the U.S., but PETA scientists are working hard to replace animal use with non-animal methods. Now, topics from PETA scientists’ publications and elements from PETA’s Research Modernization NOW roadmap have been incorporated into the plans for the new NIH office.

PETA scientists are pleased to see NIH recognize the value of using non-animal science. Establishing this new office is a definitive step showing that NIH is prioritizing humane science and working to replace tests on animals.

This is another step towards a paradigm shift in the use of animal-free methods worldwide. PETA scientists will be there every step of the way, continuing our collaborative relationships and advancing science that benefits all living beings.

What You Can Do

Over the past decade, robust non-animal approaches have revolutionized scientific research and testing. But there’s still work to do.

Right now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still requires toothpaste companies to test products on animals. Each test claims the lives of approximately 200 rats, even though more human-relevant methods that don’t use animals already exist. Urge the FDA to support the use of reliable, non-animal approaches to assess toothpaste.

Are you a U.S. resident? Great! We need all lawmakers to understand how much money our government agencies waste by relying on failed tests on animals. Please sign our petition to your members of Congress, urging them to support human-relevant, animal-free science today.