Veterinary medicine packaging to face market checks in the UK

The UK’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is set to introduce a packaging “surveillance” scheme for veterinary packaging from February 2, 2026.

The VMD is a regulatory body responsible for overseeing veterinary medicines and medicated animal feed in the UK. 

The scheme will change how the VMD monitors medicine packaging to ensure “proportionate oversight” and reduce “regulatory burden” on the animal health industry. 

The VMD says that every three months it will select a group of products for assessment, sourced from wholesalers. All packaging components will be reviewed. The assessment will then verify whether the packaging complies with the approved product information text and principles outlined in the Product Literature Standards. 

If a product fails to meet regulatory requirements, the VMD will outline the adjustments to the Market Authorisation Holder (MAH). 

The VMD says: “These actions may range from requiring the MAH to update packaging at the next regulatory opportunity for low-severity issues, to requiring submission of a formal variation to correct mock-ups, and in the most severe cases, tracking the issue as a product defect.”

The timeframe for implementing actions will reportedly depend on the severity of the non-compliance. 

Packaging design assessments 

The VMD has also updated its mock-up submission requirements under the new surveillance scheme to support regulatory compliance.

From February 2, mock-ups will no longer be required for G.I.18 Variations Requiring Assessment or during new marketing authorisation procedures.

The change aims to reduce the regulatory burden and decrease the time to market by eliminating routine packaging mock-up submissions. It can also allow the VMD to focus on cases where design or readability could pose a compliance risk.