October 17, 2007

 

US spending on animal health up 10 percent

 

 

Spending on animal health products for livestock and pets in the US rose 10 percent in 2006, according to the Animal Health Institute's Market Sales Report.

 

The three product categories for animal health products are biologics, which increased nearly 12 percent, pharmaceuticals, with a sales increase of 10 percent and feed additives with a 5 percent increase in 2006.

 

These data indicate a combination of both livestock and companion animals, with health products for companion animals accounting for a little over half the total

 

As Americans have come to recognise the important role of animal medicines, animal health companies have responded by bringing new and innovative products to the market, said AHI President and CEO Alexander S. Mathews.

 

Raw sales data was provided to AHI by CEESA, a non-profit international association based in Belgium. CEESA collects sales data on the animal health market in Europe as well.

 

Total sales for the entire US animal health products industry were tabulated based on projections made by AHI using sales data collected from CEESA.

 

Sales are for products priced at the manufacturer's level. CEESA reporting companies represent 79 percent of the US animal health products industry.

 

Estimated sales in the pharmaceutical category for the US market were more than US$4.0 billion. Sales in this category were impacted by continued increases in external and internal parasiticides for companion animals.

 

Feed additives sales rose 5.6 percent in 2006, with sales of US$576 million. Nutritional feed additives such as vitamins and minerals are not included in these estimates. The increase was attributed to new product introductions and price stability.

 

The biologicals category, which includes sales of products used to create immunity to disease in both livestock and pets, rose 12 percent in 2006. Sales increased in nearly every species, with the greatest increase among dogs and cats.

 

AHI's member companies spent US$663 million in 2006 - a 7 percent increase over 2005-- to research and develop new products and to maintain the longevity of existing products, according to AHI's latest Research and Development Survey.

The biologics category, which saw the largest increase in R&D investment, also saw the largest percentage increase in sales.

 

Innovative research represented 86 percent of total R&D spending while the remaining 14 percent went toward research to ensure the longevity of existing products.

 

AHI's members include Schering-Plough, Alpharma, Pfizer, Intervet and a dozen other animal health companies.