Working together works says NOAH Chief Exec

"Working together works". That was the conclusion of Philip Sketchley, one year after he took over as Chief Executive of the National Office of Animal Health. "We have seen some major steps forward this year, brought about by liaison to ensure that medicines remain available for the health and welfare of animals."

The European Parliament have been persuaded to propose an amendment to the European Commission's Regulatory Review proposal which would allow the UK PML system for distribution of animal medicines to continue.
The European veterinary profession has also gained success in getting proposals included in the same EP Report which could see the end to the long-standing worry over the availability of medicines for horses.
The Government response to the 'Marsh Report acknowledges how important it is that a full range of medicines remain available for animals. The Government has rejected the proposal that would have allowed veterinarians to prescribe human medicines for companion animals in place of a properly authorised animal medicine.
The Veterinary Products Committee, in its report on canine and feline vaccination, concluded that currently available dog and cat vaccines play a very valuable role in the prevention and control of major infectious diseases and strongly supports their use.
The report from the Veterinary Residues Committee showed that no "UK authorised use of a veterinary medicinal product resulted in a residue which would give cause for concern for human health": a high level of compliance with safe use of animal medicines is being achieved. Groupings such as the RUMA Alliance and its guidelines for the responsible use of antimicrobials have helped - and NOAH itself has played its part with the publication of the Data Sheet Compendium and now the publication of the withdrawal period tables on the internet
RUMA has produced new guidelines giving practical advice on the control of worms. The Pet Health Council website, which includes advice on the worming of dogs and cats, has this year been updated.

"But we should not be complacent," said Mr Sketchley. "Availability will not be secured until the European regulatory review, the Government recommendations on the 'Marsh Report', and, indeed, the Competition Commission Report on veterinary medicines have concluded and been implemented. And we should not let up on working together to offer best possible advice to the users of animal medicines. After all, medicines go through such stringent procedures before they are given a marketing authorisation and allowed on the market, they deserve to be used to their best advantage."

23 December 2002

Notes for Editors

For further information contact Phil Sketchley 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 36 corporate members and 12 associate members. In 2001 NOAH's members accounted for around 95% of the £359 million UK animal health market, with additional valuable exports.