The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has launched a new digital service for reporting adverse events associated with animal medicines.

The service is designed to make it easier for veterinary professionals and animal owners to submit reports directly to the regulator.

The service went live on 20th May, replacing the VMD’s previous reporting tool.

It introduces improved guidance to help users submit higher-quality reports from the outset. The service will also integrate with the VMD’s existing pharmacovigilance processes, supporting more efficient and comprehensive safety oversight of veterinary medicines across the UK.

The new service utilises a more modern, resilient and maintainable platform, minimising the risk of disruptions to the service.

It has already been tested on a small group of vets and animal owners and improvements have been made based on user feedback.

VMD’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Director for Authorisations, Gavin Hall said: "The launch of our new adverse event reporting service marks a significant step forward in how we gather and use safety data for animal medicines. Better reporting leads to better oversight, and ultimately better outcomes for animal health and welfare.

"We encourage anyone who observes problems with an animal medicine, whether that be a side effect in an animal, accidental exposure or injury to a human, or environmental contamination to report it, and we’ve now made it easier than ever to do so."