US farm with 93,000 hectares for sale: 10,000 cattle on 2 islands.
10,000 cattle, deer, bison, and a slaughterhouse in the middle of nowhere. One of the largest slaughterhouses in Alaska is located on the storm-battered Umnak Island.
The total revenue in the German veterinary medicine market grew by 8.7% in 2024. To ensure medical care, bureaucratic and approval procedures need to be simplified.
The German market for veterinary medicines also experienced significant growth in revenue in 2024, surpassing the billion-euro threshold for the first time. According to the Federal Association for Animal Health (BfT), the total revenue of the industry increased by 8.7% in the previous year compared to 2023, reaching €1.048 billion.
Of this amount, 39.4% is attributed to the livestock segment, while 60.6% is for small animals. The ratio of small animal to livestock segments has shifted slightly towards livestock, as in 2022 and 2023, around 62% of the revenue was from products for small animals and horses.
More prevention in livestock
The market growth, as reported by BfT, was driven by regular health check-ups, especially for older pets, and positive developments in prevention, particularly in livestock. In the livestock segment, vaccinations against Bluetongue disease (BT) in cattle and sheep, as well as necessary accompanying treatments and control measures against virus-transmitting biting midges, have had an impact.
The association referred to the stabilization of pig and poultry populations after disease outbreaks last year as a positive development, stating that disease prevention has regained its importance.
Parasites are spreading more rapidly
In detail, in 2024, according to BfT, €462.8 million was spent on pharmaceutical specialties, representing an 8.7% increase in revenue compared to the total market. The market for vaccines grew by 7.7% to €237.9 million, while the market for antiparasitic drugs increased by 19.0% to €199.1 million. Anti-infectives, including antibiotics, generated a total of €148.6 million in 2024, a 3.8% increase from the previous year.
According to BfT, the influence of legal requirements is evident in the shift from solid feed to water application for oral medication in anti-infectives. The growth in the antiparasitic segment reflects the increasing demand for regular parasite control due to the spread of ticks and mosquitoes in higher temperatures.
Policy should streamline and simplify approval procedures
Despite the market growth, the association called on policymakers in Berlin and Brussels to strengthen and significantly improve the competitiveness of the industry in Germany and Europe. This is crucial to ensure the pharmaceutical care of animals and necessary innovations in the future.
Veterinary pharmaceutical companies are currently burdened by increasingly detailed regulatory requirements, bureaucratic obstacles, and political uncertainties, according to Bft. The association urges the new federal government to enhance prevention through vaccinations and diagnostics, as well as to streamline and simplify approval and licensing procedures.
Dr. Sabine Schüller, Managing Director of BfT, emphasized the need to reduce bureaucracy, overcome national peculiarities, and establish innovation-friendly conditions. She also highlighted the innovative strength of the animal health sector, which in 2024 was a guarantee for the provision of safe and effective vaccines against a newly emerging serotype of the Bluetongue virus.