Animal Testing And Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market 2023 – By End-User (Pharmaceuticals, Academic Research, Medical Devices, Chemicals & Pesticides, Cosmetics, Other End Users), And By Region, Opportunities And Strategies – Global Forecast To 2032

Animal Testing And Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market Definition

Animal testing

Animal testing or in-vivo testing is the use of living animals in scientific experiments to assess the safety and effectiveness of new products developed in the biopharma, medical devices, chemicals, food and other industries. Animal testing allows scientists to understand how the human body might react to specific substances. The study on animals is a vital part of the research because the basic cell process and physiology of animals is similar to that of humans.

The animal testing market consists of the total expenses incurred by end-use entities that use animals for testing their products. End-use entities include academic research institutions and various industries (such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, chemicals & pesticides and cosmetics,) that conduct animal testing during product development. Pharmaceutical and medical device companies also use animal testing to understand basic disease mechanisms. End-use entities may also outsource these tests to clinical research organizations (CROs). The animal testing market covered in this report includes sales of animal testing services by CROs to end use industries.

Non-Animal Alternative Testing

Non-animal alternative testing technologies include those technologies such as in-vitro cell and tissue cultures, organs-on-chips (OOCs), computer simulations, 3D bioprinting of tissues and synthetic skin substitutes.  These technologies replace animal testing in end-use industries including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, chemicals and pesticides, food and others.

The non-animal alternative testing market is the total expenses incurred by end-use entities that use alternative technologies instead of animals for testing their products. End-use entities include academic research institutions, and various industries (such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, chemicals and pesticides and cosmetics) performing basic research, toxicology profiling, and others. The non-animal testing market covered in this report includes sales of non-animal testing services by CROs to end use industries. The market is inclusive of the costs of alternate technology tools and other operational costs involved in using these tools for various preclinical testing purposes.  The market takes into account the testing performed in alternative technologies in a particular geography i.e., where the testing happens, irrespective of where the products (drug or chemicals) that need to be tested are produced.

Animal Testing And Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market Size

Animal testing

The global animal testing market was valued at $10.74 billion in 2019 and the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.38% during 2019-2025 and at a CAGR of 2.13% during 2025-2035. USA and Japan are the major animal testing markets in the world. The USA’s animal testing market was valued at $4.67 billion in 2019, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.27% during 2019-2025 and at a CAGR of 0.63% during 2025-2035. Japan’s animal testing market was valued at $1.03 billion in 2019. The market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 3.12% during 2019-2025, and at a CAGR of 1.25% during 2025-2035.

The growth of the animal testing market in the USA and Japan is mainly due to the rise in R&D activities in end-use industries, and regulations to conduct animal experiments before testing on humans. However, the slow anticipated future growth rates (from 2021 to 2035) can be attributed to the requirement from federal agencies on biopharma companies to adopt 3R principles (i.e. to replace, reduce, and refine animals used in the laboratory research), protests from animal welfare organizations. In 2021, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to rule out mammal testing for chemicals by 2035, and increasing preference by end-use industries towards the adoption of non-animal testing technologies.

Non-Animal Alternative Testing

The global non-animal alternative testing market was valued at $1.11 billion in 2019. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.13% during 2019-2025. The USA’s non-animal alternative testing technology market was valued at $0.34 billion in 2019. The USA’s market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 13.09% through during 2019-2025. Japan's non-animal alternative testing technology market was valued at $0.06 billion in 2019 and the market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 7.67% through 2025.

The growth in the non-animal alternative testing market is mainly due to the adoption of the 3R principles by both regulatory agencies, and end-use companies, especially in the cosmetic industry. The adoption of alternative technologies is expected to grow after 2026 post regulatory agencies’ validation and approval.

Animal Testing And Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market Drivers

The key drivers of the animal testing market include:

Need For Preclinical Studies For The Approval Of Therapeutics

The rise in need for preclinical studies for the approval of therapeutics is expected to contribute to the growth of the market. The need for preclinical studies is on the rise as the researchers gain insights on new drug candidates’ dosing and toxicity while conducting these studies in animal models. Preclinical studies provide information about the safety and efficacy of a drug candidate before testing it in humans. The studies require appropriate preclinical models that are comparable to the target population to ensure reliable results. According to clinicalTrials.gov, a web-based resource which provides data on clinical studies, as of March 2021, there were 448,408 clinical studies registered.  Thus, with the growing need for drug discovery and development, the need for animal models in preclinical studies is also growing contributing to the growth of the animal testing market.  

The key drivers of the non-animal alternative testing market include:

Increasing Adoption Of In-Vitro and In-Silico Technologies In Basic Research By Pharmaceutical Industry

The significant advancement of in-vitro and in-silico testing methods that led to the adoption of alternatives to animal testing by pharmaceutical companies for basic research studies contributed to the growth of the non-animal testing market. New in-vitro technologies such as organ-on-chip (OOC) and in-silico technology such as computer-aided modeling technologies are trying to replace whole-animal testing in the drug development life cycle.  For instance, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), researchers have created “organs-on-chips” that contain human cells grown in a state-of-the-art system to mimic the structure and function of human organs and organ systems. The chips can be used instead of animals in disease research, drug testing, and toxicity testing and have been shown to replicate human physiology, diseases, and drug responses more accurately than crude animal experiments do. Some companies, such as AlveoliX, MIMETAS, and Emulate, Inc., have already turned these chips into products that other researchers can use in place of animals.

Animal Testing And Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market Restraints

The key restraints on the animal alternative testing market include:

High Cost Of Animal Studies

The high cost associated with animal testing is challenging the growth of this market. The total cost of animal use in research studies is the sum of the cost of acquisition of the animals and that of maintaining the animals prior to and during their use. The maintenance cost and the actual cost for a particular species vary with the sex, strain, weight, age, quantity ordered, method of shipping, and distance shipped.  According to an animal supply company, New Zealand White Rabbits cost as high as $352 each, purebred Beagles for $1,049 and some primates costing more than $8,000 each.  Additionally, there is human labor cost, as the animals need an attendant. Therefore, the high cost of animal studies is hindering the animal testing market, and in a way boosting the adoption of alternative testing methods.

The key restraints on the non-animal alternative testing market include:

Regulatory Mandate On Animal Testing For Drug/Medical Device Approval

Regulatory authorities mandate animal testing for drug/medical approval in the pharmaceutical industry. Regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) follow the Animal Efficacy Rule, a regulation to approve products for further clinical studies based on safety and efficacy studies in animals.   The existence of animal testing regulation in the pharmaceutical industry is hindering the non-animal alternative testing market.

Animal Testing And Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market Trends

Major trends shaping the non-animal alternative testing market include:

Developments In OOC (organ-on-chip) For Testing

The OOC (organ-on-chip) tools for testing are gaining popularity in the non-animal alternatives testing market. OOCs are miniature tissues and organs grown in-vitro that enable the modeling of human physiology and disease. OOCs are now being explored worldwide as tools for developing disease models and accurately predicting drug efficacies and toxicities. The advantages of OOCs over cell culture, animal models, and human clinical trials have captured the attention of both the medical and pharmaceutical communities focusing on developing targeted therapies. For instance, in April 2020, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, developed a new model for Organ-on-Chip to develop treatments for inflammatory diseases and afflictions.  OOCs consist of millions of cells formed on a platform to replicate the functions of different organs and can be used as an instrument in analyzing and creating new treatments for complex diseases without the use of animals for testing.

Adoption Of In Silico Trials

The use of in silico trials for testing is another trend in the non-animal alternatives testing market. In silico means “performed on computer or via computer simulation”, in modern science it refers to experimental techniques performed by computers. The in-silico trials use artificial intelligence (AI)-based simulation technology to mimic human physiology that pharmaceutical companies can use as a proxy for patients. Researchers and clinicians feed drug data into the simulated model to predict the drug’s exposure in patients and test the safety and efficacy of a drug without any consequences on humans and animals.  For example, in March 2023, Certara Inc., a US-based leader in bio simulation launched Simcyp Simulator Version 22, a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) platform for determining first-in-human dosing, optimizing clinical study design, evaluating new drug formulations and predicting drug-drug interactions (DDIs).  Certara Inc,’s Simcyp Animal is a whole-body PBPK modeling platform for rats, dogs, monkeys and mice. It is based on the Simcyp Human Simulator with simplified interfaces and well-validated models.

Opportunities And Recommendations In The Animal Testing And Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market

Opportunities –The top opportunities in the animal testing and non-animal alternative testing market segmented by type will arise in the animal testing segment, which will gain $2.37 billion of global annual sales by 2025 and $3.08 billion of global annual sales by 2035. The animal testing market size will gain the most in Rest of the World at $1.44 billion in 2025 and $3.62 billion in 2035. The non-animal alternative testing market size will gain the most in Europe at $0.50 billion in 2025 and $2.17 billion in 2035.

Recommendations-To take advantage of the opportunities, The Business Research Company recommends the animal testing and non-animal alternative testing companies to focus on in silico methods, develop human-on-chip models, develop 3D-printed organs, focus on pricing based on economies, focus on developing economies, collaborate with end user companies, focus on specific diseases and collaborate with technology developers and animal welfare organizations for promotion.

Animal Testing And Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market Segmentation

• a) Pharmaceuticals
• b) Academic Research
• c) Medical Devices
• d) Chemicals And Pesticides
• e) Cosmetics
• f) Other end users

o USA
o Canada
o Japan
o China
o Australia
o Europe
o France
o Germany
o UK
o Rest Of The World

Animal Testing And Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market Competitive Landscape

Major Competitors are:

Other Competitors Include: