About NAMsDB

NAMsDB is the NAMs database: a free directory of human data for research using new approach methodologies (NAMs) instead of animals.

Researchers often turn to animal studies because they don't know what human data already exists, or how to get it. NAMsDB closes that gap.

What are NAMs?

NAMs (new approach methodologies, sometimes called non-animal methods) are human-relevant ways to replace, reduce or refine animal testing in medicines development, chemical safety and risk assessment. They include:

In vitro models: human cells and tissues, 3D organoids and organ-on-a-chip systems.
In silico models: computer simulations, QSAR and machine learning.
Omics: genomics, proteomics and metabolomics to study biological pathways.
Human data: health records, biobanks, cohorts, registries and safety reports from real people.

Regulators in the UK, Europe and the US are increasingly accepting NAMs. Every one of them depends on good human data: to build and train models, to check results against what happens in people, or to answer the question directly. NAMsDB brings those data sources together in one place so they are easy to find.

It is a catalogue, a "directory of directories". It does not hold any patient data. It tells you what each resource holds, who can use it, how to apply and where to go. It currently lists 40 resources and is designed to grow to every country.

NAMsDB is a joint service from The Alliance for Cruelty Free Science and savethedogs.uk.

Who it's for

Researchers and students: find human data for a study question, compare access routes and download a shortlist for a grant or ethics application.
Ethics committees and AWERBs: check quickly whether human data could answer a proposed animal study's question.
Funders and regulators: browse by topic or country and cite the directory in guidance.
Everyone else: understand, in plain English, what human data exists.

What we include

Any resource that holds or gives access to data, samples or evidence from humans (or from human-based methods) that can inform biomedical, safety or toxicology research. Each entry must have:

a named custodian (the organisation responsible)
a public web page
a described way to get access

Resources fall into these categories (an entry can be in more than one):

National gateways and data access services
Health record databases
Biobanks and population cohorts
Disease and procedure registries
Drug safety, toxicology and human exposure
Social and administrative data
Clinical trial registries and results data
Human-based laboratory and computational data
Directories, catalogues and data standards

Free and fee-paying resources are both included and clearly labelled. Inclusion is not endorsement. Access decisions rest with each data custodian. There is no paid or sponsored placement, ever.

How entries are checked

Every entry shows when a curator last checked it against the provider's website. Entries not checked for 12 months are flagged to the curator, and after 18 months they are labelled "may be out of date". Every link is tested automatically each week.

Each catalogue release is numbered (this is release 2026.10.0) and can be downloaded, so you can cite the exact version you used.

Corrections and suggestions

If something is wrong or out of date, use "Report a problem" on the resource's page. Data custodians can ask for corrections the same way. To suggest a resource we're missing, tell us its name, web address and who runs it. Suggestions are reviewed before they appear.

Glossary

Biobank: A store of biological samples (such as blood, DNA or tissue) with linked health information, kept for research.
Cohort study: A study that follows the same group of people over time to see how their health changes.
Data custodian: The organisation responsible for a dataset, which decides who can use it.
Five Safes: A framework for safe data access: safe people, safe projects, safe settings, safe data and safe outputs.
Linked data: Records about the same people joined together from different sources, such as GP and hospital records.
NAMs: New approach methodologies (also called non-animal methods): human-relevant methods, such as human data, cells, organoids, organ-on-a-chip and computer models, that replace, reduce or refine animal testing.
Pharmacovigilance: Monitoring the safety of medicines after they are in use, including side effects.
Registry: A collection of information about everyone with a particular condition or treatment.
Replacement (3Rs): Using methods that avoid or replace the use of animals in research. The 3Rs are Replacement, Reduction and Refinement.
TRE / SDE: Trusted Research Environment or Secure Data Environment: a secure online space where approved researchers analyse data without downloading it.
Teratogen: Something, such as a medicine or chemical, that can harm a baby developing in the womb.

Privacy

This site holds no patient or participant data, only public information about resources.

No advertising or tracking cookies.
Your shortlist is stored on your own device and never sent to us.
To improve search, we may record searches that find few or no results. These are stored without IP addresses or any other identifier and are used only to improve search.

Open data

The catalogue is released under CC BY 4.0. See open data and API to download it or use it in your own tools.