Animals, just like people, get sick and require medicines. That is a fact. And we know that people care about the health and well-being of animals.
That’s why our members research and develop solutions to prevent, manage and treat disease. Without them, it would be simply impossible to raise healthy livestock or look after our companion animals.
Our solutions at a glance
Traditionally, animal medicines are the pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and feed additives used to keep animals healthy. Different types of animal medicines include anaesthetics, antacids, anti-infectives (antibiotics, antimicrobials), biologicals (vaccines, immunisations), anti-inflammatories, parasiticides and muscle relaxants.
Animal health care is a constantly evolving process, and we are looking with our stakeholders to develop solutions that go beyond the traditional medicines which will always remain necessary in the vet’s toolbox. Our focus is increasingly shifting to disease prevention and animal resilience as well as earlier diagnosis. We’re also investing in digital applications to monitor animal health and diagnostic tools to identify disease more rapidly. Doing so, we can facilitate better interventions to improve overall animal health and well-being.
And whereas animal health is our top priority when developing our solutions, we also aim to help deliver on One Health needs such as:
Essentially, we aim to offer #MorethanMedicine.
Innovation for animal health
Deploying traditional animal health tools and developing innovative solutions are key priorities for the future of Europe’s animals, its people and its habitat. The animal medicines industry also plays another important role here; it is part of the front line of defence against new and emerging diseases. These could be highly infectious to livestock or indigenous wildlife; they may even be zoonotic, capable of crossing the species barrier from animal to man. This is an increasing concern for Europe. Climate change and upheavals in migration patterns mean that we are likely to face animal diseases that are new or have rarely been seen in the region before.
Fortunately, many of our member companies have a global presence, working with national and global health authorities to monitor trends and prepare their response, enhancing their readiness. AnimalhealthEurope works closely with the European Commission and other stakeholders to help prioritise research to accelerate development of the preventive tools and treatments needed now and in the future.