From 1 January 2026, the regulatory environment for veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland will change, with EU laws being applied in full when the current transition period ends.
NOAH member companies have invested a huge amount of time and resources over the past two years to make the required regulatory, supply chain and logistical changes to ensure that discontinuations of veterinary medicinal products on the NI market are minimised as much as possible.
The current assessment by the UK government is that around 10-15% of products authorised for Northern Ireland will be discontinued.
While this is concerning, the UK government has also worked hard to protect animal health and welfare by developing two schemes, whereby vets and other retailers will be able to apply for access to veterinary medicinal products from elsewhere, should product shortages arise.
UK government and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate have also worked closely with industry to develop useful guidance for all stakeholders to mitigate against any anticipated product shortages.
NOAH calls on Northern Ireland-based stakeholders to maintain close dialogue with the animal health industry, the VMD and policy makers, to highlight where product shortages may arise.
In the medium term, NOAH calls on the government to work to improve and refine regulatory procedures and processes, to ensure that unnecessary regulatory burden does not act as a barrier to the long-term availability of veterinary medicines.
As a matter of urgency, we also call on both the UK government and the European Commission to work together to develop a Veterinary Medicines Agreement, to ensure the availability of veterinary medicines in both the UK and the EU, with the associated animal health and welfare and economic benefits that this will bring.
Guidance is available on the Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme (VMIMS) and on the Veterinary Medicine Health Situation Scheme (VMHSS) on the Veterinary Medicines Directorate website.