FantasticSearch

Classification of veterinary medicinal products

1. The competent authority or the Commission, as applicable, granting a marketing authorisation as referred to in Article 5(1) shall classify the following veterinary medicinal products as subject to veterinary prescription:

(a) veterinary medicinal products which contain narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, or substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of those drugs or substances, including those covered by the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 or by Union legislation on drug precursors;

(b) veterinary medicinal products for food-producing animals;

(c) antimicrobial veterinary medicinal products;

(d) veterinary medicinal products intended for treatments of pathological processes which require a precise prior diagnosis or the use of which may have effects which impede or interfere with subsequent diagnostic or therapeutic measures;

(e) veterinary medicinal products used for euthanasia of animals;

(f) veterinary medicinal products containing an active substance that has been authorised for less than five years in the Union;

(g) immunological veterinary medicinal products;

(h) without prejudice to Council Directive 96/22/EC (), veterinary medicinal products containing active substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action or beta-agonists.

2. The competent authority or the Commission, as applicable, may, notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, classify a veterinary medicinal product as subject to veterinary prescription if it is classified as a narcotic drug in accordance with national law or where special precautions are contained in the summary of product characteristics referred to in Article 35.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent authority or the Commission, as applicable, may, except as regards veterinary medicinal products referred to in points (a), (c), (e) and (h) of paragraph 1, classify a veterinary medicinal product as not subject to veterinary prescription if all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the administration of the veterinary medicinal product is restricted to pharmaceutical forms requiring no particular knowledge or skill in using the products;

(b) the veterinary medicinal product does not present a direct or indirect risk, even if administered incorrectly, to the animal or animals treated or to other animals, to the person administering it or to the environment;

(c) the summary of the product characteristics of the veterinary medicinal product does not contain any warnings of potential serious adverse events deriving from its correct use;

(d) neither the veterinary medicinal product nor any other product containing the same active substance has previously been the subject of frequent adverse event reporting;

(e) the summary of the product characteristics does not refer to contra-indications related to the use of the product concerned in combination with other veterinary medicinal products commonly used without prescription;

(f) there is no risk for public health as regards residues in food obtained from treated animals even where the veterinary medicinal product is used incorrectly;

(g) there is no risk to public or animal health as regards the development of resistance to substances even where the veterinary medicinal product containing those substances is used incorrectly.