The FDA begins “Humans on Chips” trials to replace animal testing
Bit by bit animal testing is slowly being replaced by new more modern methods, the FDA's new "Humans on Chips" collaboration will accelerate its demise and make drug testing cheaper, faster and safer.
Key takeaways
- Animal testing is an unfortunate, but still critical, part of most drug development, and before a drug makes it to the FDA, the company behind it has to show its effect on animals, and, more specifically, whether it's toxic.
- Today’s procedures require scientists to run tests on different animals and then hand that data over to the FDA for analysis and then, and only then, if the FDA signs it all off, can the company start trials in humans.
- While animal testing doesn’t look like it’s going to go away anytime soon the FDA’s endorsement of this new important technology is a crucial step that signals the beginning of the end for animal testing in pre-clinical research.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2017) 'The FDA begins “Humans on Chips” trials to replace animal testing', 311 Institute, 15 May. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/the-fda-begins-humans-on-chips-trials-to-replace-animal-testing/ (Accessed: 8 October 2026).
A future without animal testing has taken a step closer this week after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to enter into a research and development collaboration with Emulate Inc., a company that makes Organs on a Chip, a new technology that does what it says on the tin, puts human organs, such as hearts, kidneys and livers, and all their biological foibles and characteristics, onto small, cheap, disposable plastic chips.
The FDA’s ultimate goal is to replace all of today’s animal based drug and supplement testing with just a simple chip, each of which is the size of a human thumb that contain tiny channels filled with living human cells that imitate the functions of different human organs.
Furthermore, while these chips are their own technological marvels, and they can even be combined together create more complex biological systems, they’re also very cheap to make and generate results in fractions of the amount of time it takes today, speeding up, and reducing the cost of all of today’s drug testing procedures in one go. A win win win.
For example, in Emulate’s case their Lung-on-a-Chip recreates how the human lung reacts to certain medications, and it’s also hoped that the results of the tests that use the chips will be more accurate than today’s tests that use a culture of lung cells or an animal's lung, neither of which perfectly mirror the intricacies, or biology, of the human lung like the new chips do.
Animal testing is an unfortunate, but still critical, part of most drug development, and before a drug makes it to the FDA, the company behind it has to show its effect on animals, and, more specifically, whether it's toxic.
Today’s procedures require scientists to run tests on different animals and then hand that data over to the FDA for analysis and then, and only then, if the FDA signs it all off, can the company start trials in humans.
The new collaboration between the FDA and Emulate will initially focus on the company's Liver-on-a-Chip product that shows how a human liver, which is where most drugs get broken down on their way out of the body, will react to certain drugs.
While animal testing doesn’t look like it’s going to go away anytime soon the FDA’s endorsement of this new important technology is a crucial step that signals the beginning of the end for animal testing in pre-clinical research. And if it can at least help reduce the number of animals that suffer in animal testing labs then that’s only ever going to be a positive move.drug
What this means for your organisation
The regulator is leading the change.
When the drug regulator backs a new test method, the industry follows. This is the start of the end for animal testing in early research. Firms that adapt first gain speed.
Faster, cheaper, more human.
Chips give results in a fraction of the time and at low cost. They may also predict human reactions better than older methods. That cuts late stage failures.
The liver is the first test.
Most drugs are broken down in the liver, so that is where toxicity often shows. Starting there targets a major cause of failure. Other organs and linked systems will follow.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- How much of our early testing could move to organ chips?
- What would fewer animal tests do for our reputation and costs?
- Are we ready to submit chip based data to regulators?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Bit by bit animal testing is slowly being replaced by new more modern methods, the FDA's new "Humans on Chips" collaboration will accelerate its demise and make drug testing cheaper, faster and safer.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- Emulate Inc. emulatebio.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 15 May 2017. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2017). The FDA begins “Humans on Chips” trials to replace animal testing. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/the-fda-begins-humans-on-chips-trials-to-replace-animal-testing/
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