AVMA President to testify before Congress

AVMA working with lawmakers to increase the number of approved animal drugs

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Lori Teller, AVMA President, will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on March 30, 2023, at 9:00 AM ET to discuss the importance of reauthorizing the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA) and the Animal Generic Drug User Fee Act (AGDUFA). The legislation is up for reauthorization every five years and is critical to ensuring a predictable pathway to market for new and innovative animal drugs and generic animal drugs.

The AVMA supports the collection and effective utilization of user fees to enhance the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine's (FDA CVM) review and approval of pioneer and generic animal drugs. Throughout 2022, the AVMA provided verbal and written comments to the FDA CVM regarding the needs of veterinarians in the reauthorization of these programs.

"Veterinarians need additional new, innovative, and generic animal drugs that have been demonstrated to be safe and effective to help protect animal and public health," said Dr. Teller. "We support the collection of user fees for new and generic animal drug applications when they are used to expedite the review and approval process for these products. The AVMA is grateful for this opportunity to highlight how critical the ADUFA and AGDUFA programs are to veterinarians in addressing the need for more safe, effective, and approved animal drugs for the benefit of our patients, their owners, and communities across the country."

Past animal drug user fee agreements have advocated for improved efficiency of the animal drug review and approval process; however, more can be done. The AVMA supports:

• The FDA CVM adopting processes used by other similar regulatory agencies that could streamline and shorten the time needed to approve products for U.S. markets.
• Allowing veterinarians to use conditionally approved products in an extra-label manner to fulfill unmet needs in veterinary access to new drugs.
• The approval of more generic animal drugs, which will help ensure veterinarians have consistent, affordable access to the medications they need to treat the animals in their care.

About the AVMA:

The AVMA is the nation's leading representative of the veterinary profession, speaking for more than 100,000 member veterinarians who care passionately about protecting animal health, animal welfare, and human health. Informed by its members' unique scientific training and knowledge, the AVMA advocates for policies that advance the practice of veterinary medicine and support the crucial work of veterinarians.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Colin MacCarthy

Advocacy Communications Manager

American Veterinary Medical Association

Cell/Text: 202-641-2533

cmaccarthy@avma.org

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SOURCE American Veterinary Medical Association