Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress she has made in enabling the approval of medicines developed without animal testing.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has responsibility for decisions on approval of medicines. In March 2026, the MHRA published a statement outlining its approach which included that, from January 2027, where a medicine has been developed without animal testing, the MHRA will review data generated by a developer to determine in advance of a formal application, if it agrees. Plans to implement this are well-advanced. The MHRA’s statement is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mhra-approach-to-medicines-using-non-animal-methods