Responsible Antibiotic Use
As a company dedicated to the health and welfare of animals, Elanco Animal Health believes healthy animals are key to solving some of the world's most pressing issues.
We therefore support Responsible Antibiotic Use.
Antimicrobial resistance is a significant health challenge, and animal agriculture can play a role in the solution by reducing the need for medically important antibiotics in farm and pet animals.
Antibiotics are a critically important tool farmers and vets use to ensure the health and welfare of animals, as well as the safety of our food supply. But they’re just one tool. Farmers and vets work closely together to design and implement comprehensive animal health programs that take into account quality diets, clean and comfortable housing, disease prevention and treatment as well as other factors. When antibiotics are used in both large and small animals, they must be used responsibly and under strict veterinary guidance.
Elanco's Long-Standing Commitment
As a company dedicated to the health and wellbeing of animals, Elanco is committed to increasing antibiotic stewardship and combatting antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical, complex issue and we’re working with leaders across human and animal health to develop long-term, responsible solutions. For more than 15 years, Elanco has been focused on increasing responsible antibiotic use, reducing the need for antibiotics and replacing antibiotics with alternatives whenever possible.
Antimicrobial stewardship has been a priority for Elanco for more than a decade. We have led industry transformation in this space and have made tangible progress to drive the responsible use of antibiotics. At the same time, we’ve focused on finding new solutions and alternatives to solve our most pressing healthcare concerns around antibiotic resistance.
— Dr. S. Simjee, Chief Medical Officer
Through our pipeline, policies, and advocacy efforts, we seek to protect the benefits of antibiotics in human medicine, while responsibly protecting the health of farm animals and the safety of our food supply. Elanco has intentionally shifted our business away from shared-class antibiotics – those used in both humans and animals. We've removed growth promotion from nearly 100 product labels globally and removed over-the-counter use from nearly 70 product labels to require the oversight of a veterinarian. Most importantly, Elanco has focused on expanding access to animal-only antibiotics, which don’t create a threat to human resistance, and creating antibiotic alternatives, including vaccines, enzymes, probiotics and prebiotics. For example, Elanco’s work in vaccines, particularly salmonella, directly reduces exposure to pathogens in people, ultimately reducing the need for antibiotics in both animals and people.
By 2030, Elanco will seek to:
- Invest more than $3.5B in innovation to pursue the discovery and development of products that improve the health and care of animals, including products that would reduce the need for medically important antibiotics.
- Expand the availability of vaccines, nutritional health products, and diagnostics in underserved markets that currently rely on medically important antibiotics.
- Increase access to innovation, knowledge, and partnerships for small-holder farmers by adapting the value-chain to ensure the responsible use of antibiotics.
- Expand engagement with stakeholders, solicit concerns and expectations of responsible antibiotic use and the responsible care of antibiotics.
For product related technical queries, contact the Elanco Vets team:
Telephone: 01256 353131, selecting option 1 for technical services
Email: ElancoVets@elanco.com*
*please note this inbox will be checked during the next business day. If you require an urgent response to a product-use query, suspected adverse event or quality complaint regarding an Elanco product, please call 01256 353131 choosing option 1 for technical services. Outside of office hours, your call will be forwarded to our medical answer service and an Elanco representative will call you back. Thank you for your understanding.
