IFAH-Europe annual conference 2009 calls for a true European single market for veterinary medicines Rolf Eriksson, Swedish State Secretary for Agriculture, Avril Doyle, MEP, and Philip Tod, speaking on behalf of Europe’s Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou were among the speakers at IFAH-Europe’s annual conference on 25 June discussing the upcoming regulatory review. This review will reshape the legislative framework of veterinary medicines in the EU for the years to come and is to be undertaken by the new European Commission in 2010.
The IFAH-Europe conference was a unique opportunity to gather all stakeholders involved in animal health for a constructive debate. All acknowledged the need for the prevention of the occurrence of animal diseases and the reduction of their impact, as well as the ongoing work towards simplifying the legislative framework for veterinary medicines.
Rolf Eriksson, Swedish Secretary of State for Agriculture, underlined the importance of preventive healthcare and improved biosecurity, while acknowledging that pharmaceuticals can be of great value to prevent diseases from spreading and a tool for eradication.
Declan O’Brien, IFAH-Europe’s Managing Director stated: “Our annual conference was a key event in developing consensus on ideas for the future review of the legislation on the authorisation of veterinary medicines foreseen in 2010, bringing together all stakeholders in the sector and players along the food chain. IFAH-Europe will continue the open dialogue with these partners so as to agree proposals in 2010 for streamlining the Animal Health legislation.”
View the programme and presentations on the events pages of the IFAH-Europe website.
1-1-1 = better availability of medicines IFAH-Europe does some maths for the 2010 regulatory review
The European Commission acknowledged the need to replace the current complex legal structure surrounding veterinary medicines by a simpler framework. This was one of the points addressed at the opening of the IFAH-Europe annual conference 2009 by European Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou’s representative.
IFAH-Europe put forward what it calls its “1-1-1” concept: ensuring veterinary medicines’ availability through a single European market. The 1-1-1 concept highlights the benefits of quality, safety and efficacy through one single EU dossier as the basis for granting marketing authorisation for veterinary medicinal products, with one single assessment of the dossier employing the best expertise available, resulting in one decision for marketing authorisation. IFAH-Europe called for one vision, one final step to one market at its annual conference “This concept appears to be the most simple and straightforward way to address all of the major deficiencies of the current system and to finally achieve the goal of a single market for safe and efficacious veterinary medicines”, explains Neil Craven (Pfizer Animal Health) from the IFAH-Europe technical and regulatory committee.
MEP Avril Doyle, who has been a passionate champion for the animal health cause in the European Parliament supported the need for an efficient regulatory framework at the IFAH-Europe annual conference: “The EU has a responsibility to ensure that its legislation is not a disincentive to bringing to the market high quality veterinary medicines which are critical to protect both animal health and welfare, and public health through the food chain”. MEP Avril Doyle at the 2009 IFAH-Europe conference
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