Complement Animal Research In Experimentation (Complement-ARIE)

Complement Animal Research in Experimentation (Complement-ARIE) is a Human-based New Approach Methodologies initiative within NIH Common Fund’s Office of the Director and advances research methods that are intended to model human biology more accurately than traditional animal-only models. It was approved by the NIH Council of Councils on January 25, 2024, and moved into first full-funding status in FY26 with $39.9 million that year. The broader NIH commitment reported for this initiative is approximately $150 million, and the program is positioned as a public-good pathway for translational and preclinical method innovation. The initiative is structured around technology development projects and centers that target biological complexity gaps, a data-and-NAM coordinating center with a searchable repository, and a Validation and Qualification Network managed as a public-private partnership by Foundation for NIH. The VQN selected pilot projects for scale-up and regulatory-alignment work, and the program includes community-facing support and training. Complement-ARIE also runs a $7 million Reduction to Practice Prize through HeroX and reports continued coordination with FDA timelines where applicable. The strongest candidates are teams able to build or validate human-centered in vitro, in silico, or assay methods tied to specific regulatory pathways, with a plan to move from lab demonstrations to broad research uptake. Eligible applicants include for-profit entities, nonprofits, universities, and research organizations registered in the United States, while individuals are not eligible for this route.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.