Driving Innovation with Virtual Control Groups

What They Mean for Your Studies’ Efficiency and Quality

Charles River has joined the VICT3R Project, a public-private consortium funded by the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), to help bring virtual control groups (VCGs) into mainstream toxicology. For customers, this collaboration represents a meaningful shift: a path toward faster, more efficient studies that use fewer animals while maintaining or even strengthening scientific confidence. Virtual control groups apply historical control data, advanced statistics, and AI-enabled analytics to digitally replace a portion of concurrent control animals in regulated safety studies. By reducing animal use and improving data interpretability, VCGs offer a modern, ethical, and scientifically robust alternative doe developers seeking more efficient decision-making.

What VCGs Offer

Virtual Control Groups provide tangible benefits to study sponsors looking to accelerate timelines, enhance data quality, and meet evolving expectations for the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement).

Up to 25% reduction in animal use without compromising regulatory-grade rigor
Greater statistical power, particularly for detecting rare spontaneous findings that may otherwise obscure study outcomes
More consistent interpretation, leveraging large, curated historical datasets to contextualize unexpected results
Improved study efficiency, freeing resources and enabling teams to focus on higher-value scientific questions

Charles River brings deep toxicology expertise and a long-standing commitment to alternative methods. Our earlier collaborations, including co-developing VCG prototypes with Sanofi, demonstrate how high-quality historical data can reliably support or replace live control groups without sacrificing scientific integrity. As a VICT3R partner, we will contribute data, scientific leadership, and computational capabilities to help validate VCG models, establish shared methodologies, and generate the evidence needed for global regulatory acceptance.

Shaping the Future of Ethical, Efficient Safety Testing

The VICT3R Project aims to modernize nonclinical safety assessment by building a comprehensive, global database and creating the frameworks required for future adoption of virtual control groups across the industry. For customers, this means greater flexibility, stronger data contextualization, and the ability to advance programs with confidence.

Charles River’s involvement underscores our commitment to delivering ethical, innovative, and data driven solutions that support both scientific progress and responsible animal use. By helping advance VCGs, we aim to empower sponsors with next-generation tools that streamline toxicology studies and enable more informed, data-grounded decisions.

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