Charles River Laboratories Showcases Virtual Control Group Study Results

Charles River Laboratories International has shared the results of a retrospective analysis in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, showing that virtual control groups can preserve scientific integrity while reducing reliance on animal models. The review, which looked at 20 toxicology studies that replaced concurrent control groups with curated VCGs, and compared the outcomes across study-level decisions and detailed endpoints. There was 100 percent concordance in the No Observed Adverse Effect Level across all studies, and although there was some minor endpoint-level variability between the CCG and VCG, the core study conclusions remained unchanged. Continued research with clients has been ongoing to enhance and refine models to address these variabilities. Charles River's VCG program is guided by the Alternative Methods Advancement Project, an initiative focused on reducing the use of animals in research where scientifically appropriate. "Virtual Control Groups show that scientific rigor and meaningful reductions in animal use are not mutually exclusive," said Dr. Namandje N. Bumpus, Chief Science and Innovation Officer, Charles River. "By combining decades of curated historical data with advanced analytics, VCGs allow us to reduce animal use while preserving the highest commitment to scientific validity. This work demonstrates what's possible when innovation, ethics, and industry collaboration move forward together, and it opens the door to a more predictive and efficient future for safety assessment and reduced reliance on animal use in research."