Animal health

There is an increasing need for vigilance and surveillance efforts of zoonotic diseases to prevent outbreaks which could threaten food safety. For example, with over 60 percent of the world’s domestic pig population in Asia and the Pacific region, the potential impacts of African swine fever on the swine industry were enormous, since it was first reported from China in 2018. With no vaccine or effective treatment for this transboundary animal disease, control is through enhanced biosecurity; to date, over 200 million pigs have either died or been culled in the region. An increasing number of parasites resistant to currently available antiparasitic drugs highlights the need for further R&D investments and animal health research to identify new active molecules. This is especially more critical for livestock than pets. For example, for most of the marketed anthelmintics drugs used to kill worm-like parasites, resistance has become widespread, particularly in ruminants.

How can companies optimize their R&D portfolio and align with company’s business strategy? How can we limit and prevent the outbreaks of zoonotic diseases?

Development in regulations such as the EU ban on routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture means that companies have to navigate and explore potential solutions to support market needs such as in-feed enzymes, probiotics and prebiotics. To put this in perspective, in 2020, 160,000 tonnes of antibiotics were given to farm animals globally. The number is predicted to rise to 200,000 tonnes by 2030. Antibiotics are used in farming for a number of reasons. It’s not just for treatment or prevention of disease. One of the most prevalent uses is to accelerate animal growth. This results in a larger meat yield and more profits for producers.

Developing innovations for animal diseases that are effective across this diverse regulatory landscape is a significant challenge, with the approvals in animal health products dwindling below 50 by the mid-1990s as compared to over 400 for human medicines. For instance, in Europe, companies have 10 years data protection while in the US, companies only have 5 years data protection. This means that by the time a product can be widely used, it may have already lost exclusivity protection and faces generic competition before the company can obtain a return in investment. Furthermore, once a product receives market approval, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) that are tailored to human health are often applied to animal health sector. Without adapted GMP, an animal health product can face unnecessary requirements that may make it financially unfeasible to manufacture.

How will the development in regulations affect the development of therapeutics in Animal health? How to adapt to projected evolutions and develop innovative manufacturing processes?

Similarly, aquatic animal diseases are threatening the economic and environmental sustainability of aquaculture, the fastest-growing food production sector in the world due to rapid growth in demand and production. Careful management of the health of aquatic animals has become essential to supporting the development of sustainable aquaculture and to overcome sanitary and biodiversity challenges emerging from high production and trade volumes as well as from the open environment in which these populations often live.

How can we leverage the development in technology for early detection and monitoring of animal health? How do we improve the sanitary and biodiversity challenges of aquaculture while ensuring high production?

With the surge in pet ownership and the humanization of pet care, veterinarians are a key part of this evolution and companies increasingly need to work closely with them to support their practices and meet the demands of pet owners through animal health medicines, vaccines, food and supplements, diagnostic and devices and digitalization of services. Challenges can include identifying new channels for product offerings to increase access for pet owners, educating pet owners on the benefits of different interventions and producing relevant marketing materials that connects to the needs of pet owners in different markets.

How can companies provide more support to veterinarians to create awareness among pet owners? What are the most promising channels for product offerings to reach consumers and veterinarians?

Considering the profound effects of digital technologies on animal health services, it is also important for veterinary services to explore and be proactive in adopting current innovations in connected technology. These technologies include identification microchips, feeders, surveillance and tracking of eating and drinking habits and tracking of behaviour patterns, all with the aim to provide pet owners with rich data and insights to help them keep their pets healthy.

What are the developments in technology that can help to improve animal health services? Who are the different partners animal health companies can collaborate with to develop these technologies and new services for animal health?