Swissmedic consistently supports the international 3Rs strategy

20.11.2026

Swissmedic has endorsed a joint statement from the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA) calling on medicine developers, manufacturers, regulators and national control laboratories to continue to advance and implement alternative methods or approaches to animal testing throughout the lifecycle of human medicines, wherever, and as soon as possible.

Swissmedic actively supports the principles of the 3Rs (reduce, replace, refine) and promotes their implementation in the development and regulation of medicinal products. As medicines are developed for patients worldwide while regulatory decision-making often occurs at the national level, meaningful and lasting progress requires a coordinated international effort. Promoting international alignment and harmonisation of regulatory approaches through ICMRA are central to this effort.

The statement, to which Swissmedic actively contributed, sets an ambitious long-term goal: to replace animal testing at every stage of a medicine's lifecycle, from screening promising active substance candidates and early medicinal product development, to pre-clinical and non-clinical testing, through to licensing as well as the monitoring and regulatory activities after market launch. Achieving this will require a careful shift to alternative, scientifically valid non-animal methods. Strong scientific evidence, acceptance of these methods by regulators and close global collaboration will play a crucial role here.

Further information can be found here: Statement from ICMRA on animal testing for human¹ medicines | International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA)