
Belgium
On October 7, 2024, a long-anticipated Royal Decree concerning the advertising of veterinary medicines was published in The Belgian Official Journal. This RD will enter into force on 1 January 2025.
This decree outlines specific rules for promoting prescription and non-prescription veterinary medicines:
- Prescription medicines: Advertising is only allowed towards veterinarians and pharmacists and all materials need to be archived for a period of 5 years along with a detailed register.
- Non-prescription medicines:
- Advertising towards the general public needs to be notified to the FAMHP, at least 30 days before distribution of the material. *This notification is valid for 2 years.
- All materials need to be archived for a period of 5 years along with a detailed register
- Samples:
- Samples are defined as the smallest authorised or registered packaging, that is commercialized, of a veterinary medicinal product.
- Solely veterinarians who are holder of a medicine depot can request samples via a signed request form (in duplicate), which mentions:
- Full name of the requesting veterinarian and registration number on the list of the Order of Veterinarian
- Address of the depot
- Full name, strength, pharmaceutical form, and size of the packaging of the veterinary medicine of which a sample is requested
- Number of samples requested
- Date and signature of the requesting veterinarian
- There is no numerical limitation to the number of samples that can be requested, yet these must be traced.
- Yearly, before the 1st of March, the list of distributed samples must be submitted to the FAMHP.
- All premiums and benefits towards veterinarians and pharmacists must be kept in a register.
* All currently distributed advertisement materials towards the general public need to be notified to the FAMHP within 3 months after the effective date of this Royal Decree.
The Royal Decree can be found via the following links:
NL: Belgisch Staatsblad (fgov.be)
More detailed information on the notification procedure can be found here: