Advertising

The Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulation sets out the rules on advertising a veterinary medicinal product.

Rules for the promotion of a veterinary medicinal product:

• It is clear from the advertising of a veterinary medicinal product that it is aimed at:
  • the promotion of the supply of veterinary medicinal products
  • the sale of veterinary medicinal products
  • the prescription of veterinary medicinal products
  • the distribution of veterinary medicinal products
  • the use of veterinary medicinal products
• The advertising shall not give the impression that the veterinary medicinal product could be a feed or a biocidal product.
• The advertising shall correspond to the summary of product characteristics of the veterinary medicinal product.
• The advertising shall not contain information which may be misleading or lead to incorrect use of the veterinary medicinal product.
• The advertising promotes the responsible use of the veterinary medicinal product. This is done by presenting it in an objective manner, without exaggerating its properties.
• It is prohibited to advertise a veterinary medicinal product which has been suspended.
• With the exception of small quantities of samples, veterinary medicinal products shall not be distributed for promotional purposes. These samples shall be appropriately labelled, indicating that they are samples. The samples shall be delivered directly to:
  • Veterinarians
  • other persons authorised to supply such veterinary medicinal products during sponsored events
  • sales representatives, who may provide them during their visits
• Antimicrobial veterinary medicinal products should not be distributed for promotional purposes.
• It concerns advertising of a veterinary medicinal product that is available without a veterinary prescription.

Additional rules for the promotion of a prescription-only veterinary medicinal product

In the case of veterinary medicinal products subject to medical prescription, it may also be advertised only to the following persons:

• Veterinarians
• Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of veterinary medicinal products who are authorised.

However, in the Netherlands, prescription-only veterinary medicinal products may be advertised if:

• The advertising is only aimed at professional animal keepers and
• The advertising is limited to immunological veterinary medicinal products and
• The advertising is an explicit call to the professional keepers of animals to consult the veterinarian about the immunological veterinary medicinal product.

The above does not apply to the so-called autovaccines (Art 120(3)). In case of autovaccines, advertising is always prohibited.

Legal basis

The legal basis for advertising veterinary medicinal products is Articles 119 to 122 of the Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulation and Article 8.2 of the Veterinary Medicinal Products Decree 2022.

Further elaboration of the rules

There is a code for the promotion of veterinary products. The Royal Dutch Society for Veterinary Medicine (KNMvD) and the trade association of Manufacturers and Importers of Veterinary Medicines (FIDIN) have jointly determined this code. The rules on advertising have been further elaborated here.

The Commission for the Promotion of Veterinary Products (CAVP) monitors the code. This is an independent commission. Any interested party may submit a complaint regarding violations of the Code.

Complaints regarding violation of the code can be found on the FIDIN website.