NEW DATA ON ANTIMICROBIALS SALES AND USE IN
ANIMALS IN THE EU
The second European Sales and
Use of Antimicrobials for Veterinary
Medicine (ESUAvet) annual
surveillance report is now published,
consolidating data from the EU
including Iceland and Norway in
2024. Together with the report a
new dashboard is launched allowing
public access to data on the sales of
antimicrobial veterinary medicinal
products (VMPs) across the EU.

“With ESUAvet, we are not just
collecting data - we are building
trust, enabling action, and contributing
to a healthier future for all. Reliable
data support smarter decisions
and safer communities. By turning
data into insight, we empower
countries to take informed action
against antimicrobial resistance,”
said Ivo Claassen, Head of Veterinary
Medicines Division at EMA.

In 2024, 98% of total sales of
antimicrobial VMPs were for food-
producing animals. Sales for this
group increased by 5% compared
to 2023. These results suggest
that the overall declining trend
observed between 2010 and 2022
may be slowing down or reversing.

More data will be needed in the
future to determine whether
this reflects a lasting shift or a
temporary fluctuation, which
can be caused by factors such
as stockpiling, disease outbreaks
or changes in animal population.

Continued close monitoring and
timely reporting will be essential
to support corrective actions, if
needed. and turkeys, marking a strategic
shift towards more granular and
actionable insights.

Variability between countries still
limits EU-level aggregation, but
countries are working hard to
improve the completeness and
granularity of their use data. It
is important that these efforts
continue, as these data offer new
opportunities to understand
consumption patterns and guide
targeted interventions.

Alongside this report, ESUAvet
is launching a new interactive
dashboard. This tool offers broad
public access to antimicrobial
VMP sales data, empowering
stakeholders - from policymakers
to the general public - to
explore and understand trends
in veterinary antimicrobial
consumption patterns to support
decision making.

While sales data remain a reliable
proxy for estimating antimicrobial
consumption in food-producing
animals, actual consumption is
monitored through use data
reporting, now in its second
year for cattle, pigs, chickens,
EMA AND FDA SET COMMON PRINCIPLES FOR AI IN
MEDICINE DEVELOPMENT
EMA and the U.S. FDA have jointly
identified ten principles for good
artificial intelligence (AI) practice
in the medicines lifecycle. The
principles give broad guidance on
AI use in evidence generation and
monitoring across all phases of a
medicine, from early research and
clinical trials to manufacturing and
safety monitoring.

The principles are relevant for
those developing medicines, as
well as for marketing authorisation
applicants and holders. They will
underpin future AI guidance in
the different jurisdictions and
support enhanced international
collaboration among regulators,
organisations setting technical
standards and other stakeholders.

Guideline development in the EU
is already underway, building on the
EMA AI reflection paper published
in 2024.

The use of AI technologies
across the medicines lifecycle has
increased significantly in recent
years. AI holds great promise as a
tool to accelerate the path from
innovation to safe and effective
medicines. The new pharmaceutical
legislation accommodates the
broader use of AI in the lifecycle of
medicines in regulatory decision-
making and creates additional
possibilities for testing innovative
AI driven methods for medicines in
a controlled environment.

To realise these benefits, AI
needs to be expertly managed.

As AI continues to evolve, a
principles-based approach will
help regulators, pharmaceutical
companies and medicines
developers harness the potential of
these technologies while ensuring
patient and animal safety and
regulatory compliance.

CHP PACKER INTERNATIONAL update 23