The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7369 p400
1 October 2005

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Veterinary market to open up to pharmacists despite opposition from veterinary surgeons

The Government is taking steps to break down the monopolies in the dispensing of prescription-only veterinary medicines and opening up the market to community pharmacists despite opposition from veterinary surgeons. It has rejected objections, mostly from vets, that pharmacists may not want to prescribe animal health POMs and that they fail to understand the market of veterinary medicines.

The Government stand has delighted Glasgow pharmacist and editor of Veterinary Pharmacist Steven Kayne. He said: “The Government has been trying to break the stranglehold which veterinary surgeons have on prescribing POMs. This is a move in the right direction and may in the future open the door to supplementary prescribers for veterinary medicine.”

Under the current regulations pharmacists have the power to dispense POMs for animal health. However, according to Dr Kayne, few offer the service because they feel they lack the specialist knowledge or because the present system, where vets are unlikely to offer pet owners a prescription for a POM, does not allow them the option to dispense.

Dr Kayne said: “I don’t think we will see the flood gates opening now but I do think there may be a trickle of pharmacists becoming veterinary pharmacists, particularly for companion animals like cats and dogs.”

The Government comments, in favour of pharmacists dispensing POMs for animal health, follow the Department of Trade and Industry’s consultation on its proposals for the draft Supply of Prescription Only Medicines (Veterinary Use) Order 2005.
The Government in its response to the consultation, which has just been published, said it did “not share the concern” that pharmacists may not “choose to compete in the market for veterinary medicines”.

Instead the Government said it thinks “that there are opportunities in this market that pharmacies will wish to take advantage of”. It pointed out that pharmacy groups which responded during the consultation confirmed they “had an interest in participating more fully in the market”.

The Government was also reluctant to accept the view that pharmacists do not understand the veterinary medicines market.

The Government pointed out that the National Pharmacy Association provides training and advice on animal medicines. If pharmacists were unfamiliar with the market that was because the present system prevented them from participating in it “to a significant extent”, it concluded.

The raft Order, which has been out for public consultation since February, was triggered by original concerns by the Competition Commission in 2003 about controls in the current market of POMs for animal health. There were 105 responses.