Roxane Feller, Secretary General of AnimalhealthEurope, explains how the non-profit organisation works to not only secure a healthier future for animals but for everyone.
Ensuring the health and safety of all animals, from pets to farm animals, is of vital importance to achieve a better society for all. Prioritising the supply and accessibility of animal health products throughout Europe can help to optimise health management, preserve food supply chains, and keep our pets free from disease.
Dedicated to innovating and advocating for the animal health sector, AnimalhealthEurope is a non-profit member association with a mission to be to be the voice of the European animal medicines industry. The Innovation Platform spoke to Roxane Feller, Secretary General of AnimalhealthEurope, to learn more about their work and Europe’s animal health sector as a whole.
Can you explain more about the goals and objectives of AnimalhealthEurope?
AnimalhealthEurope represents manufacturers of animal medicines, vaccines and other animal health products in Europe.
It is a not-for-profit body representing both corporate members and national animal health associations in Europe. The association’s membership covers around 90% of the European market for animal health products, representing both innovators and generics alike, as well as large, medium-sized and small companies.
It is our mission to be the voice of the European animal health sector and to highlight the importance of healthy pets and farm animals. We strive to demonstrate the reliability and value of animal health solutions to society. By ensuring a ready availability of animal health products throughout Europe, we can help optimise health management, while contributing to the sustainability of food production and keeping the companion animals that share our homes free from disease.
Our work centres around three priority focus areas: One Health, Innovation, and Sustainability. In short, by protecting animal health, we can help protect public health and our shared environment. Innovation and sustainability are quite linked, as by focusing on researching and developing new ways to prevent, manage and protect animal health, we can support vets in their profession, we can support farmers with more efficient agricultural practices, and we can support pet owners in ensuring their pets are healthy members of our families. All this contributes to the general wellbeing of all of Europe’s citizens.
What are the key challenges/threats to animal health in Europe that you are focused on currently?
The most obvious challenges right now are the numerous disease threats affecting Europe’s livestock herds and poultry flocks. We have noted that, over the past few decades, transboundary and emerging animal diseases have been increasing in occurrence, and diseases which were once only reported outside of Europe’s borders are now more frequently occurring on European soil, and not solely in the continent’s southern climes.
The EU has legislation on transmissible animal diseases, but current EU trade policies do not support a pro-vaccination approach, and uptake of vaccine use amongst farmers is not always a given. This poses challenges when authorities send urgent requests for a vaccine to be developed and supplied only after the emergence of an outbreak. It can be difficult from a timing and resources perspective for animal health companies to act within the required timeframe to immediately address the outbreak, and it also creates a certain level of risk if the return on investment is not guaranteed in case of non-use.
Aside from the disease outbreaks and contradicting policy challenges, another potential threat to animal health may come from legislation that at first glance may seem that it should not impact the production of animal medicines. Certain environmental and chemicals-related legislation have the potential to severely hinder the continued manufacturing of animal health products in the EU if the risk-only approach is taken rather than the benefit-risk approach, usually accorded to veterinary medicines.
What will 2025 look like for your work?
Related to the disease outbreaks situation, what we’d really like to see in 2025 is that the EU takes a ‘fire prevention’ rather than ‘firefighting’ approach when it comes to animal health.
We have four key recommendations to achieve that:
- Establish a regular dialogue between the animal health industry and veterinary authorities. A structured partnership where industry and the authorities can anticipate demand and increase preparedness, to ensure predictable risks are addressed in a timely manner, would generate and build trust.
- Develop a dedicated rapid alert and response mechanism for animal diseases. To gain valuable time, at the first signs of a transboundary animal disease (TAD) outbreak, the Chief Veterinary Officers of the country(ies) concerned could liaise directly with the industry association to set up an urgent meeting to decide in partnership on the response required.
- Guarantee an Animal Health Law that is fit for future challenges. With the European Commission currently evaluating Regulation (EU) 2016/429 on transmissible animal diseases (the so-called ‘Animal Health Law’), this is a key opportunity to address unresolved challenges and better protect Europe against future animal disease outbreaks.
- Ensure European co-ordination for animal vaccination campaigns. Currently, Member States respond in different ways to one disease that impacts their territories. This not only limits intra-EU movement of animals, but it can in some cases prolong the occurrence of the disease in Europe. A co-ordinated EU response to animal disease outbreaks, for example through vaccination campaigns, would support a more measured and effective approach.
In 2025, we will also be following the developments on the new EU Animal Welfare legislation, the revision of the Animal Health Law, and monitoring the horizontal legislation that may impact medicines availability. We will also follow closely the Clean Industrial Deal developments and initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of our sector, and of course we will continue to focus on the priority areas – One Health, Innovation, Sustainability – mentioned above.
How important is innovation in animal health? How are you supporting research and development in animal health?
With innovation being one of our key focus areas, this can tell you that innovation is a huge priority for the animal health sector. Our member companies invest around 8% on average in research and development annually, and we work with various research projects to help steer interested parties in the needed direction for animal health innovations.
One such project is DISCONTOOLS, which identifies gaps in knowledge to speed up the development of new DISease CONtrol TOOLS (diagnostics, vaccines and pharmaceuticals) and reduce the burden of animal diseases. The project provides information for over 50 infectious diseases of animals and serves as a key resource for the STAR-IDAZ International Research Consortium, as well as for other funders of animal health research, including trusts and industry bodies.
We also have regular exchanges with academics and research bodies through other EU-funded projects, such as the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare, WiLiMan-ID, JAMRAI, and more.
How important is collaboration with other organisations in your work?
For us, collaboration is key to a healthier future for animals, people, and our planet!
Very little can be achieved in the long run by working in silos and not sharing information and best practices. That’s why AnimalhealthEurope has, over the years, helped to set up multi-stakeholder platforms on key topics, or joined in with partnerships where we feel input from the animal health sector can contribute and be beneficial for the overall outcomes.
Examples of these platforms include the European Platform for the Responsible Use of Medicines in Animals (EPRUMA), European Livestock Voice, and Pet Alliance Europe.
Please note, this article will also appear in the 21st edition of our quarterly publication.
