Vetoquinol - Universal Registration Document - 2021

2 Vetoquinol Universal Registration Document 2020 Financial report 55 STATEMENT OF NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Our products 2.6.6 Antibiotics for veterinary use and antibioresistance: commitment to the rational use of antibiotics in animal health The discovery of antibiotics in the 20 th century marked a significant medical milestone. However, the widespread and occasionally excessive use of antibiotics modified the bacterial ecology and contributed to the emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Preventing the development of bacterial resistance and preserving antimicrobial activity have become major public health challenges on a worldwide scale. Most European countries have already established national plans and set targets to reduce the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. The use of critical antibiotics (fluoroquinolones and third and fourth-ge- neration cephalosporins) is henceforth governed by restrictive regulations limiting their use. These regula- tions have had a gradual and continuous impact on the Group’s business in Europe, leading to a reduction in the proportion of sales generated by anti-infectives. Vetoquinol is strongly committed to helping veterinarians cope with these restrictions regarding the prescription of critical antibiotics, by organizing scientific and legislative webinars led by experts and providing tools for raising awareness amongst pet owners. For over 20 years, Vetoquinol has carried out epidemic monitoring of the sensitivity of bacteria responsible for various diseases in pets and food-producing animals to the antibiotics the laboratory markets, in order to verify that the treatment did not lead to a reduction in sensitivity or antibioresistance, even when administered correctly. Given its extensive experience and expertise in anti-in- fectives, Vetoquinol continues to develop targeted curative treatment for diseases requiring the use of anti-infectives, thereby contributing to the responsible use of such drugs in the animal health sector. For this reason, Vetoquinol initiated research programs to iden- tify alternatives to antibiotics. Finally, Vetoquinol is developing rapid diagnostic tools to allow rational use of the remaining arsenal available for veterinary medicine. 2.6.7 Eco-friendly products In keeping with its commitment to sustainable develop- ment, Vetoquinol plans to assign greater importance to environmental factors in developing new products and solutions. This means, during the early stages of product development, paying more attention to the envi- ronmental impact of the raw materials and production processes employed, as well as developing products that are inherently more “eco-friendly”. For this purpose, the “Ecopack” project was launched in 2019. The project involves reducing the carbon footprint of product pac- kaging by condensing pallet loads, thereby reducing the number of journeys, and using new packaging materials that are easier to recycle.