MADRID—The Spanish Network for Alternative Methods, known as REMA, with Humane World for Animals—formerly known as Humane Society International—and Animal-Free Safety Assessment hosted the XI REMA Conference on Feb. 20, 2025, at the Ministry of Health in Madrid. The conference, honouring the late Professor Eugenio Vilanova, a founding member of REMA, brought together over 250 leading experts from industry, academia and government to discuss the advancement of non-animal methods in chemical safety testing, biomedical research and regulatory science.
The event came at a crucial time as the European Commission develops its roadmap to phase out animal testing following the successful European Citizens' Initiative that gathered 1.4 million signatures. Through expert panels and discussions, participants addressed key challenges and opportunities in implementing non-animal methods (NAMs) across different sectors.
The roadmap, with expected completion by early 2026, carries broad regulatory significance, impacting 15 legislative areas including industrial chemicals, pesticides, biocides, pharmaceuticals, and food and feed additives. The Commission has already committed to analysing necessary steps to replace animal testing and to accelerate the development, validation and implementation of NAMs.
The use of NAMs has gained significant momentum in recent years, due to their potential to deliver better results for human health and environmental protection. Despite this progress, barriers remain to their acceptance and uptake in research and testing. Conference attendees discussed strategies to address these challenges through promoting legislative change, facilitating education and training initiatives, increasing strategic collaboration at local and global levels, and directing more funding towards NAMs.
"While the European Commission Roadmap marks a landmark opening for advanced chemical safety assessments and regulatory advancement, it is currently unclear how it will lead to truly phasing out animal testing," said Antigoni Effraimidou, senior strategist of institutional policy at Humane World for Animals. "We have a duty to EU citizens to deliver a concrete action plan that builds trust in non-animal methods and saves millions of animals from unnecessary testing."
"We must raise awareness between researchers, testers and regulators on the current state of non-animal methods. The evolution in this field is exponential and these methods can already provide more useful and applicable information than certain traditional animal tests," said Guillermo Repetto, president of REMA.
The conference featured speakers from leading organisations like AC Marca, L’Oreal, the Spanish Ministries of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Institute for Health Carlos III, the Spanish National Association for the Defense of Animals, and Humane World for Animals, demonstrating the strong multi-party commitment to advancing non-animal approaches.
The event also showcased the Ministry of Health's commitment to furthering alternative methods through a new internal 3R Unit under the Institute of Health Carlos III, coordinate efforts to replace, refine and reduce animal methods, support information-sharing and guide funding initiatives.
Recent studies on alternative methods were also presented, including computational modelling, methodologies to reduce animal use, and organs-on-chips technologies. The conference concluded with a memorial honouring the late Professor Eugenio Vilanova for his decades-long contributions to toxicology and alternative methods, and his role as a founding member of REMA.
Continued collaboration will be key to advancing NAMs in the future, with all interested parties at the XI REMA Conference dedicated to furthering cross-sector dialogue to promote the acceptance and use of these innovative methods for research and testing. Attendees at the event remain united in pursuit of the objectives of the European Commission’s roadmap, committed to a shared vision for a future without animal testing.