2001 - the view from NOAH-draft press release
Always under the shadow of Foot andMouth, the animal medicine industry in 2001 has been dominated by regulatoryreviews. 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 inrelation to Foot and Mouth disease. Entering 2001 with a background trend ofincreased companion animal medicine sales and falling farm animal sales, theFMD outbreak threw even that into turmoil: the full effects have yet to be seenat manufacturer level.
Review 2001 is the completeexamination by the European Commission of the rules governing the marketingauthorisation of human, and animal, medicines. The industry saw this very muchas an opportunity. FEDESA (the European Federation for Animal Health, of whichNOAH is a member), together with the European veterinary profession and others,worked hard to try to use this chance to make the licensing process moreefficient and hence to improve medicine availability. There have been manysuccesses and positive points to come out of the Commission proposals, whichshow the regulators are aware of the vital role of medicines in keeping animalshealthy and protecting food safety.
But in the final draft a clausecrept in that proposed to make all farm animal medicines prescription only. Inone fell swoop the UK could potentially lose the whole successful PML system.NOAH has worked closely with many other organisations to defend this controlledyet accessible distribution route and the UK Minister has recognised theconcern. NOAH welcomes the UK line: "to seek to modify the proposal toenable a flexible approach to the distribution of veterinary medicinal productsthat takes advantage of existing national practices, so long as consumerprotection and animal welfare can be demonstrably assured". Round one iswon, but the battle over this clause will continue throughout next year, as theCouncil and European Parliament consider the proposals in parallel.
UK animal medicine sales have showna trend over the past two years or so - a growth in sales of companion animalproducts 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 allpredictability.
The FMD crisis obviously hit hard.The timing of the outbreak caused maximum problems to the industry: late winterand spring are times when livestock are particularly at risk from disease orparasite challenge. It is common for sheep and cattle to be dosed with wormersand vaccines before turning out to grass, while spring treatment of sheep withectoparasiticides (sheep dips etc.) against scab, fly-strike etc. is animportant spring routine to protect both animal welfare and productivity andcontrol contagious disease.
Understandably farmers werepre-occupied with the threat of FMD and, already in financial difficulties,were reluctant to spend money and effort treating animals which might be culleda few days later. Several manufacturers offered farmers a refund if theiranimals were culled due to FMD after they had been treated with their products.Nevertheless, there is a real fear that parasitic disease problems are beingstored up for the future - in particular that sheep scab, until 1992 anotifiable disease, will run out of control. Even companion animals have beencaught up in the uncertainty, as rural dogs and cats appear not to havereceived their usual flea treatments.
By the time FMD took hold a large proportion of sales bymanufacturers had taken place. What is not yet known is the extent to whichmerchants achieved their usual level of spring sales or, indeed, whetherproducts were sold to farmers but remain unused. Not until the beginning of2002 will it be seen if 'normal' autumn sales occurred or, as many fear, willit emerge that merchants and farmers did not make autumn purchases because theystill have unused stocks, bought in the spring.
However, it is inevitable that, in those areas directly hitby FMD, the massive slaughter of sheep and cattle will mean that saleswill be well down because of the reduced number of animals left to treat. Inthese areas this trend will continue through 2002 and beyond until farms arerestocked.
Sales of companion animal products in rural areas have alsobeen affected. This is partly because of less sporting activity by horses anddogs, and partly because many vets were seconded to FMD work and so saw fewerpatients in the surgery.
Some products have, of course, increased in use -disinfectants (not strictly medicines, but an important part of the wideranimal 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 tonearly 360m at ex-manufacturers prices - about 47% for farm animals, theremainder for companion animals (pets and horses). Sales for the 12 monthsending 30 September 2001 are 352m - figures are obviously not yet availablefor the whole year. Much of the decline relates to farm animal sales, but thisyear there are no major increases in companion animal sectors either. Companionanimal vaccines show an increase of around 6% over the equivalent total thistime last year: anti-inflammatories and cardiovascular preparations show asmall increase, antibiotics are static, small animal ectoparasiticides are downso far. Sadly, the only sector showing a major gain is neurologicalpreparations, showing an increase of just under 16%, mainly due to an almostdoubling of euthanasia preparation sales.
So what will happen in 2002? It remains to be seen whetherthe downturn in the global economy will have will have an impact on the UKanimal medicine industry. In previous times of recession companion animal saleshave suffered - routine vaccination might be missed, for example, if an animaldoes 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 willbe 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 thosethat were not directly hit, that have not been able to trade but were noteligible for State compensation, who will struggle to find the money necessaryto 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 havea vital role. Healthy food comes from healthy animals.
There will be issues to face. Review 2001 will continue, andthe Government response to the Marsh Report, the 'Independent Review ofVeterinary Dispensing' is expected very soon. It will be interesting to see howthe two progress in parallel.
But, if the most recent WHO and OIE conferences onantibiotics are anything to go by, it is good to see that the benefits ofanimal medicines are being considered, as well as any potential risks. Theresponsible attitude taken with animal medicines is being recognised. Much hasbeen achieved by working together - in the UK through RUMA (Responsible Use ofMedicines in Agriculture Alliance) on the farm animal side and through groupssuch as the Pet Health Council on companion animal issues. The animal medicineindustry looks forward to continued constructive dialogue in the future.
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1. Forfurther information contact Roger Cook or Alison Glennon on 020 8367 3131, ore-mail noah@noah.co.uk or visit theNOAH website www.noah.co.uk
2. The National Office of AnimalHealth was formed on 1 January 1986 to represent the UK companies whichresearch, develop, manufacture and market licensed animal health products. Theassociation now has 38 corporate members and 12 associate members. In 2000NOAH's members accounted for around 95% of the 357 million UK animal healthmarket, with additional valuable exports.