NIH Invests $87M in Organoid Center to Advance Drug Testing Alternatives

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has taken a significant step towards reducing reliance on animal testing in drug development by allocating $87 million to establish the Standardized Organoid Modeling (SOM) Center. This initiative, announced on September 25, 2025, aims to accelerate drug discovery and translational science through the creation of standardized, reproducible, and accessible organoid models.

A Collaborative Effort to Transform Preclinical Testing

The SOM Center, to be housed at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in Maryland, is a collaborative effort involving multiple NIH institutes. These include the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and the Office of Research on Women's Health.

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Ph.D., emphasized the center's potential impact, stating, "By creating standardized, reproducible and accessible organoid models, we will accelerate drug discovery and translational science, offering more precise tools for disease modeling, public health protection and reducing reliance on animal models."

Advanced Technologies and Open Access

The SOM Center will leverage cutting-edge technologies to develop and distribute organoid models. Nicole Kleinstreuer, Ph.D., acting NIH deputy director for program coordination, planning and strategic initiatives, highlighted the center's technological capabilities: "The center will serve as a national resource to scientists at NIH and investigators from around the country and the world, offering a unique combination of AI and machine learning to develop world-class organoid protocols, advanced robotics for large-scale production and open-access repositories for physical samples and digital resources."

Initially, the center will focus on developing organoids that mimic human liver, lung, heart, and intestine, with plans to expand to other organs in the future. These lab-grown tissue models are designed to replicate the structure and function of human organs, providing a more accurate representation of human biology compared to traditional animal models.

Part of a Broader Shift in Drug Testing Paradigms

The establishment of the SOM Center aligns with a broader trend in the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory bodies to move away from animal testing. This shift has gained momentum in recent years, with several high-profile initiatives announced by the second Trump administration.

In August, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health launched a public-private partnership network to support new alternative methods (NAMs) for drug testing, including organoids. Earlier in April, the FDA announced plans to end animal testing requirements for new monoclonal antibody drugs, while the NIH unveiled a new office dedicated to advancing NAM development.

These developments collectively signal a transformative period in preclinical drug testing, with the potential to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of drug discovery while reducing the ethical concerns associated with animal testing.