CURRENT VETERINARY ISSUES IN EUROPE

摘要

"The European Commission will presume the highest ambition for the review of the veterinary medicines legislation... We see strong possibilities to make a good contribution to the reduction of the administrative burden for national competent authorities, veterinarians and manufacturers - in other words a win-win-win situation." Commissioner Daili's opening address to the 2011 IFAH-Europe conference 'Veterinary Medicines Review - The Big Debate' were music to the ears of the organisers. IFAH-Europe isthe representative body of manufacturers of veterinary medicines, vaccines and other animal health products and the purpose of this conference was to kick-start the debate on forthcoming review of the legislation, as well as creating an opportunity forthe industry to present their vision. This was a high-profile conference with representatives of European institutions, farmers, veterinarians, pharmaceutical industry and national authorities all in attendance. There was general agreement that the current legislative regime is in need of an overhaul with a number of significant problems having arisen in recent years. Firstly, the lack of availability of veterinary medicines is of concern to all parties. This is a particular problem in smaller markets and for minor species. Over 70% of authorised medicines are for dogs, cats, pigs or cows. There is also the incongruous situation whereby veterinarians in one Member State have access to a product that is not available to their colleagues across the border, and may even be illegal to use or possess there. Secondly, the processes for authorising veterinary medicines have become very complex, resulting in a high administrative burden for regulators and industry. While there is a centralised procedure, whereby a product can receive an EU-wide marketing authorisation, the majority of authorisations are still carried out by Member State authorities. With 27 national authorities in existence, duplication of labour is a significant issue, both for