NOAH has welcomed the extension of current Northern Ireland Protocol measures for veterinary medicines announced by the EU Commission, which will help provide some certainty for the NI market in the short term with existing arrangements remaining in place until the end of 2022.

While the bespoke arrangement for the regulatory requirements and supply of medicines to NI announced by the Commission covers only human medicines, NOAH is pleased to see the need to look at concerns over continuity of supply of veterinary medicines has been acknowledged and the continuation of the current standstill arrangements in respect of our sector until the end of 2022 to ensure supply of veterinary medicines can continue unhindered.

The Commission has announced that discussions on veterinary medicines will continue over the coming months, to gather information, identify any outstanding implementation issues and find the most appropriate way forward to ensure long-term continuity of veterinary medicines supply to Northern Ireland, as well as Cyprus, Ireland and Malta.

Dawn Howard, NOAH’s chief executive, said: “Following representations from both NOAH and AnimalhealthEurope over the past months we are pleased to see that our concerns on the potential impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol have been recognised and look forward to continued collaboration to help develop a practical solution.

“Our industry, along with the VMD, has worked hard to identify concerns and has put forward potential solutions. Business needs certainty to plan, and the extension of current arrangements will help secure continuity of supply in Northern Ireland over the next year, as discussions continue to agree a long-term solution to the problems the NIP poses for our sector.”