UK veterinary medicines regulator reports stronger compliance and product approvals

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UK vet medicines compliance report

Highlights

Veterinary Medicines Directorate achieves 100% target on national applications and improves performance on other applications to 99% from 56% in 2024/25.
The regulator authorises 20 vaccines and issues 130 marketing authorisations in 2025/26, while removing over 850 illegal online listings and expanding staff to 223.
Total antibiotic sales for food-producing animals drop 57% since 2014, with the Northern Ireland grace period ending 31 December 2025 causing no major supply issues.

Regulatory results and operational delivery

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate says in its Annual Report and Accounts for 2025 to 2026 that it substantially meets many of its core regulatory targets, including 100% performance on national applications, inspections, import and export schemes, and product defect handling.

Performance on national applications rises from 96% a year earlier, while performance on other applications climbs to 99% from 56% in 2024/25. Across 38 measures in the organisation’s published standards, 22 are compliant 100% of the time, 13 are compliant between 95% and 99%, two between 85% and 94%, and one falls below 85%.

The regulator says this means medicines applications are being assessed and processed in a timely way so products can reach the market and begin treating disease. During the year, it authorises 20 vaccines and issues 130 marketing authorisations for pharmaceutical products, supporting disease prevention, food security and rural economies across the UK.

Sector impact and strategic priorities

The VMD’s enforcement team removes more than 850 illegal listings from online marketplaces, an action aimed at reducing exposure to unsafe and unauthorised products for animal owners and the wider public.

The directorate also continues to lead the veterinary component of the UK’s antimicrobial resistance National Action Plan, working with government, industry and the veterinary profession under a One Health approach. Its latest Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance report shows total antibiotic sales for food-producing animals have fallen by 57% since 2014, marking sustained progress on a long-term animal and public health risk.

Working with Defra, devolved administrations and industry, the regulator successfully manages the end of the Northern Ireland grace period on 31 December 2025, with no significant medicine supply issues identified. The organisation also grows headcount to 223 staff, expands its biologicals team by five people to address more complex novel therapies and vaccines, maintains ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2022 certifications, and continues investment in digital modernisation.

Our earlier coverage of the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s expanded review of England’s childcare market examined growing concerns about affordability, hidden fees, and the availability of places for families. We also noted how changes in the provider mix—particularly the rise of private equity-backed nurseries alongside a steep fall in childminders—could influence pricing, parental choice, and future policy recommendations on regulation and funding.

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