NOAH
the regulator
Animal medicines go through an extremely strict
scientific assessment before they are allowed to be sold. The
Veterinary
Medicines Directorate (VMD) is the
Department for Food, the Environment and
Rural Affairs’s Executive Agency which is responsible for the evaluation and
regulation of UK animal medicines and also grants the marketing
authorisations for these products. Similar controls apply to medicines
authorised across the EU through the
European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
The VMD is advised by independent advisory committees
including the Veterinary Products Committee
and Veterinary Residues
Committee, and works alongside other official bodies such as the
Food
Standards Agency and the
Environment Agency
(EA) or Scottish
Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
NOAH supports scientific approval and works to ensure
regulatory controls are managed in such a way as to protect human and animal
health and the environment while encouraging investment in the animal
medicines of the future.
NOAH promotes self-regulation by the animal health
industry in matters relating to product promotion.
The Code of Practice for
the Promotion of Animal Medicines ensures ethical standards are upheld when
animal medicine companies market their products. Its purpose is to ensure
that marketing information is fair, accurate and objective.
The code is upheld by the NOAH Code of Practice
Committee, which is chaired by an independent practising barrister, has an
independent secretary and includes representatives from both the farming and
veterinary professions. The code is regularly reviewed and updated and
incorporates the European Industry Code of Practice.
It is a requirement of NOAH membership and participation
in the NOAH
Compendium that all companies' sales representatives involved in the
direct technical selling of medicines (other than those on free sale) are on
the NOAH Certificate of Animal Health Register
(formerly The Animal Medicine Manufacturers' Sales Staff Register, run
through AMTRA) and take the examination within two years of joining the
industry.
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