Why Animal Medicines Aren’t Just “Human Medicines for Animals”
Like most pet owners, I treasure my dog, Boomer. When he needs vaccinations, flea and tick preventatives, or medicines to address an illness, I’m not thinking about how those therapies are developed and delivered. Like all pet owners, I just want my dog to be healthy. And since animal medicines serve the same fundamental purpose as human medicines—to prevent disease, treat illness, and improve quality of life—it’s easy to assume that animal medicines are exactly like human medicines. Though they share many similarities, animal and human medicines have important differences. In fact, developing medicines for animals is often far more complicated than developing medicines for people.
First, let’s look at the similarities. Both animal and human medicines are developed under rigorous scientific standards and reviewed by government regulators before they are prescribed. Both must be used according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved label instructions that specify the appropriate use, dosage, and duration of treatment.
After that, things can get a bit more complicated. Consider that human medicine focuses on one species, while veterinary medicines must consider different species. A veterinarian may treat a cat, a dog, a horse, a cow, a chicken, or a rabbit—all in the same week. Each species has unique biology, behaviors, and treatment needs. Pet care, like human medicine, generally means treating an individual animal, like giving a pill to a dog. Compare that to treating a herd of cattle or a flock of poultry. Researchers must study how medicines can be safely and effectively delivered across a wide range of animals and production systems.
Dosage can present additional challenges. A nine-pound cat receives a dose completely different from a one-thousand-pound horse. Even when both animals need protection against similar diseases, the amount of medicine required—and sometimes how the medicine behaves in the animal’s body—can be dramatically different. In developing animal medicine, researchers must account for these differences.
As a result of these extra variables, animal medicines are subject to regulatory oversight that is every bit as rigorous as human medicine, despite serving a much smaller market. The veterinary medicine sector is only a fraction of the size of the human pharmaceutical market, yet companies that develop animal medicine must navigate similarly demanding research, testing, and approval processes. That reality can make innovation more challenging.
Additionally, regulators evaluating medicines for food-producing animals must not only determine whether the medicine is safe and effective for the animal but also assure the safety of the food supply and environment. That means additional studies and additional investment before a product can be approved.
Finally, paying for animal medicines is very different than paying for human medicines. Most people with health insurance are insulated from the full cost of many prescription medicines, while pet owners and livestock producers usually are not. When a veterinarian prescribes a treatment, the owner often bears the entire cost directly. As a result, the economics of animal health are very different from that of human healthcare.
As a proud pet owner, it’s important to understand that animal medicines are not a simplified version of human medicine. They require their own science, their own research, and their own regulatory framework. The challenges are different, but the goal is the same: healthier lives.
