2001 - the view from NOAH

Always under the shadow of Foot and Mouth, the animal medicine industry in 2001 has been dominated by regulatory reviews. From Europe came Review 2001; in the UK there has been the Marsh Report. And as the year comes to an end, various reviews are being undertaken in relation to Foot and Mouth disease. Entering 2001 with a background trend of increased companion animal medicine sales and falling farm animal sales, the FMD outbreak threw even that into turmoil: the full effects have yet to be seen at manufacturer level.

Review 2001 is the complete examination by the European Commission of the rules governing the marketing authorisation of human, and animal, medicines. The industry saw this very much as an opportunity. FEDESA (the European Federation for Animal Health, of which NOAH is a member), together with the European veterinary profession and others, worked hard to try to use this chance to make the licensing process more efficient and hence to improve medicine availability. There have been many successes and positive points to come out of the Commission proposals, which show the regulators are aware of the vital role of medicines in keeping animals healthy and protecting food safety.

But in the final draft a clause crept in that proposed to make all farm animal medicines prescription only. In one fell swoop the UK could potentially lose the whole successful PML system. NOAH has worked closely with many other organisations to defend this controlled yet accessible distribution route and the UK Minister has recognised the concern. NOAH welcomes the UK line: "to seek to modify the proposal to enable a flexible approach to the distribution of veterinary medicinal products that takes advantage of existing national practices, so long as consumer protection and animal welfare can be demonstrably assured". Round one is won, but the battle over this clause will continue throughout next year, as the Council and European Parliament consider the proposals in parallel.

UK animal medicine sales have shown a trend over the past two years or so - a growth in sales of companion animal products balanced by a fall in farm animal sales due to falling farm incomes, leading to overall static sales. This trend was expected to continue in 2001. However, Foot and Mouth Disease arrived in February, which put paid to all predictability.

The FMD crisis obviously hit hard. The timing of the outbreak caused maximum problems to the industry: late winter and spring are times when livestock are particularly at risk from disease or parasite challenge. It is common for sheep and cattle to be dosed with wormers and vaccines before turning out to grass, while spring treatment of sheep with ectoparasiticides (sheep dips etc.) against scab, fly-strike etc. is an important spring routine to protect both animal welfare and productivity and control contagious disease.

Understandably farmers were pre-occupied with the threat of FMD and, already in financial difficulties, were reluctant to spend money and effort treating animals which might be culled a few days later. Several manufacturers offered farmers a refund if their animals were culled due to FMD after they had been treated with their products. Nevertheless, there is a real fear that parasitic disease problems are being stored up for the future - in particular that sheep scab, until 1992 a notifiable disease, will run out of control. Even companion animals have been caught up in the uncertainty, as rural dogs and cats appear not to have received their usual flea treatments.

By the time FMD took hold a large proportion of sales by manufacturers had taken place. What is not yet known is the extent to which merchants achieved their usual level of spring sales or, indeed, whether products were sold to farmers but remain unused. Not until the beginning of 2002 will it be seen if 'normal' autumn sales occurred or, as many fear, will it emerge that merchants and farmers did not make autumn purchases because they still have unused stocks, bought in the spring.

However, it is inevitable that, in those areas directly hit by FMD, the massive slaughter of sheep and cattle will mean that sales will be well down because of the reduced number of animals left to treat. In these areas this trend will continue through 2002 and beyond until farms are restocked.

Sales of companion animal products in rural areas have also been affected. This is partly because of less sporting activity by horses and dogs, and partly because many vets were seconded to FMD work and so saw fewer patients in the surgery.

Some products have, of course, increased in use - disinfectants (not strictly medicines, but an important part of the wider animal health sector) and euthanasia products have seen abnormally high usage, due to their role in the FMD control programme.

The 2000 sales of animal medicines in the UK amounted to nearly £360m at ex-manufacturers prices - about 47% for farm animals, the remainder for ‘companion animals’ (pets and horses). Sales for the 12 months ending 30 September 2001 are £352m - figures are obviously not yet available for the whole year. Much of the decline relates to farm animal sales, but this year there are no major increases in companion animal sectors either. Companion animal vaccines show an increase of around 6% over the equivalent total this time last year: anti-inflammatories and cardiovascular preparations show a small increase, antibiotics are static, small animal ectoparasiticides are down so far. Sadly, the only sector showing a major gain is neurological preparations, showing an increase of just under 16%, mainly due to an almost doubling of euthanasia preparation sales.

So what will happen in 2002? It remains to be seen whether the downturn in the global economy will have will have an impact on the UK animal medicine industry. In previous times of recession companion animal sales have suffered - routine vaccination might be missed, for example, if an animal does not have to be kennelled in order for the owners to take a holiday abroad. Pet insurance policies may lapse, as money gets tighter.

As the farming community tries to find its feet, there will be those re-stocking who perhaps can afford to invest in the best stockmanship, including the proper use of preventive medicine. But there will also be those that were not directly hit, that have not been able to trade but were not eligible for State compensation, who will struggle to find the money necessary to invest in the health of their animals. 2002 looks to be a difficult year, but if British livestock farming is to come through, animal medicines will have a vital role. Healthy food comes from healthy animals.

There will be issues to face. Review 2001 will continue, and the Government response to the Marsh Report, the 'Independent Review of Veterinary Dispensing' is expected very soon. It will be interesting to see how the two progress in parallel.

But, if the most recent WHO and OIE conferences on antibiotics are anything to go by, it is good to see that the benefits of animal medicines are being considered, as well as any potential risks. The responsible attitude taken with animal medicines is being recognised. Much has been achieved by working together - in the UK through RUMA (Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance) on the farm animal side and through groups such as the Pet Health Council on companion animal issues. The animal medicine industry looks forward to continued constructive dialogue in the future.

19 December 2001

Notes for Editors

For further information contact Roger Cook or Alison Glennon at NOAH, tel. +44 (0)20 8367 3131, or visit the NOAH website.
The National Office of Animal Health was formed on 1 January 1986 to represent the UK companies which research, develop, manufacture and market licensed animal health products. The association has 38 corporate members and 11 associate members. In 2000 NOAH's members accounted for around 95% of the £357 million UK animal health market, with additional valuable exports.