New Pet Medicine Regulations to Take Effect in July; Pharmacists' Association Calls for Improved Supporting Measures from APHIA

With pets falling ill and lacking access to medicines, the veterinary community has called for the liberalization of human medicine use. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Agency (APHIA) and the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) jointly issued the "Regulations on the Management of Human Medicines for Use in Dogs, Cats, and Non-Economic Animals" in 2024, with a two-year buffer period, set to officially take effect in July this year. However, according to APHIA data, among the 701 human medicine items currently announced as available for use in dogs, cats, and non-economic animals, only 216 have completed registration as animal protection medicines. This has caused concern among many pet owners and veterinarians, as only registered animal protection medicines can be legally stored in animal hospitals. The remaining nearly 500 items cannot be stocked, potentially leading to inconvenience for acute treatment or night emergency medication. The Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Veterinarians' Association, and Pharmacists' Association will discuss the new regulations tomorrow. They plan to allow veterinarians to stock emergency medicines to safeguard pets' medical rights. However, because regulations stipulate that only pet owners can receive human medicines, animal protection groups and wildlife protection groups argue that this system harms animals' medical rights and call for an indefinite postponement. The Pharmacists' Association, however, supports the version taking effect on July 1. The Pharmacists' Association issued a statement today, pointing out that due to the insufficient variety of "animal medicines" specifically for treating animal diseases, human medicines must be used in clinical animal treatment. The original intention of the regulations was to legalize veterinarians' use of medicines and provide a two-year buffer period, but there are still serious gaps in the supporting measures. The Pharmacists' Association stated that APHIA only held a practical briefing in February this year, leading to a severe delay in the registration progress of animal protection medicines. In particular, medical gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen have not yet completed registration, preventing pharmaceutical companies from legally supplying them directly to animal hospitals. This is why many veterinarians and pet owners worry about "finding gas cylinders in the middle of the night." "This issue is not a conflict between veterinarians and pharmacists," the Pharmacists' Association emphasized, "but rather a problem of administrative efficiency and system integration." Pharmacists are collaborators in the use of human medicines for animal treatment, aiming to ensure the legality and safety of drug flow, not to increase the burden on pet owners. To address practical needs, the Pharmacists' Association revealed that on March 24 this year, they proactively proposed to APHIA that for difficult-to-obtain items like medical gases and injections, a "consignment at animal hospitals" model could be explored. Under this model, veterinarians would use the medicines and then report their usage to pharmacies within a certain period, balancing actual treatment needs with drug flow management. The Pharmacists' Association emphasized that pets are important members of many families, and animal medical needs cannot be ignored. They urge the Ministry of Agriculture APHIA to work with the FDA to actively encourage pharmaceutical companies to apply for registration, fill administrative gaps, and prevent system conflicts from leading to a lack of available medicines in clinical settings. Pharmacists will work with veterinarians to protect animal medication and health rights. (Edited by Li Heng-shan)1150409