AE reporting ‘easier than ever’ after portal launch – VMD

A new digital platform will make it “easier than ever” to report adverse events (AEs) linked to animal medicines, a senior VMD official has claimed.

The new service has gone live today (20 May), 18 months after the previous platform was suspended, following pilot testing by both vets and animal owners.

But while it maintains the new system is more resilient than what preceded it, the directorate has acknowledged the development of a “perception gap” linked to its handling of the issue.

Updated guidance

The new platform is intended for use by veterinary and other animal health professionals as well as animal owners and has been accompanied by the publication of updated pharmacovigilance guidance.

VMD deputy chief executive Gavin Hall described its launch as “a significant step forward” in its gathering and usage of safety data for medicines.

He said: “Better reporting leads to better oversight, and ultimately better outcomes for animal health and welfare.

“We encourage anyone who observes problems with an animal medicine, whether that be a side effect in an animal, accidental exposure or injury to a human, or environmental contamination to report it, and we’ve now made it easier than ever to do so.”

Criticism

The VMD has been heavily criticised in recent months over its handling of the problems with the reporting portal, which critics fear may have prevented concerns from being reported.

Officials have rejected that suggestion, claiming to have received more AE reports than ever before since requiring all incidents to be reported and pointing out that legal obligations for marketing authorisation holders (MAHs) to report AEs were not affected.

But the directorate has now confirmed the previous portal was originally suspended in December 2024, six months before concerns about it were first raised.

Although officials have previously acknowledged failings in their communications around the issue, they have now conceded the situation “created a perception gap” and they should have explained the problems earlier. They also said they recognised “trust is rebuilt through actions over time” and wanted to maintain open communications with the sector going forward.