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VMD urged to overturn decision on flunixin
Flunixin is a common analgesic used in horses with colic

Product suspended over potential risk to humans

Leading equine veterinary association BEVA is urging the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) to overturn its decision to suspend the sale of flunixin.

Flunixin is a common analgesic used in horses with colic, as well as for those undergoing surgery and other conditions. On Thursday (26 July), the VMD suspended the product after the Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) said that a solvent in the injectable formulation - diethanolamine - could pose a risk to humans.

Now BEVA is calling on the VMD to overturn this decision in horses not destined for the human food chain, to reduce the potential impact on equine welfare. It argues that the decision had been made without warning or consultation with the veterinary profession.

“BEVA is fully supportive of all attempts to promote food safety, however, flunixin is widely viewed as the gold-standard painkiller in horses and is commonly used in horses undergoing both elective and emergency surgery, for the crippling pain associated with laminitis and for severe forms of colic,” said BEVA president Jonathan Pycock.

“BEVA is calling on the VMD to immediately enable limited batch release of flunixin for use in horses not destined for the human food chain in the interests of animal welfare. The equine veterinary profession has always been open to consultation with the VMD on a range of important matters relating to responsible medicine use, antibiotic resistance, horse identification, passports and the horse meat issue.

“BEVA is perplexed as to why the VMD failed to consult with the equine veterinary industry on the animal welfare impact of withdrawing such an important drug.”

Used widely throughout the veterinary industry, flunixin is the only medicine licensed for the treatment of sepsis. BEVA states that no recall notices have been issued and therefore veterinary surgeons may continue to prescribe medicines that are in stock.

A disruption to the supply chain, however, could lead to shortages of this medicine in clinical practic, it said. 

Image (C) Redwings Horse Sanctuary

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RCVS Knowledge appoints Veterinary Evidence editor-in-chief

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development." 

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CVS Group hit by cyber attack

CVS Group, which owns more than 450 veterinary practices in the UK, has been hit by a cyber attack.

In a statement, the group said the incident involved unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems. As soon as the attack was discovered, the group took its IT systems temporarily offline, causing 'considerable operational disruption'.

It has warned that the security steps taken and ongoing plans to move its operational systems and IT infrastructure to the Cloud are likely to have an ongoing impact over a number of weeks.

Due to the risk that personal information was accessed, CVS has informed the Information Commissioner's Office. The company is working with third party consultants to investigate the incident.