Veterinary antimicrobial sales reporting
Reporting by manufacturers, importers and compounders on the sales of medically important antimicrobials for veterinary use supports our antimicrobial resistance surveillance program and stewardship.
What's New: The Highlights Report of the 2023 data is now available. Have questions or need to be added to the Veterinary Antimicrobial Sales Reporting (VASR) system? Email vasr-vavr@hc-sc.gc.ca
On this page
- Why collect this information
- Rules for sales reporting
- Who this applies to
- How to report
- Annual highlights reports
- For more information
Why collect this information
Following international best practices and as of 2018, reports on the sale of veterinary antimicrobials considered to be important in human medicine are collected. This information helps:
- give a better understanding of the volume of antimicrobials available for use in animals
- support surveillance and interpretation of patterns and trends of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
- provide relevant information that could help assess the impact on human health from the use of specific antimicrobials in animals
A summary of the information received is made publicly available. Surveillance includes collection, integration, analysis/summary, interpretation and dissemination of information.
Rules for sales reporting
These rules apply to manufacturers, importers, and compounders of medically important antimicrobials for veterinary use.
Sales reports of veterinary drugs containing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) on List A: List of Certain Antimicrobial Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients must include:
- the total quantity sold or compounded
- the approximate quantity sold or compounded for each intended animal species
Sales reports are required to be submitted every year and to reflect data collected over the period of January 1 to December 31. The annual deadline to submit sales reports of the previous calendar year to Health Canada is March 31 of each year. For example, the first reporting year was 2018 and sales reports had to be submitted by March 31, 2019.
To support veterinary antimicrobial stewardship, the sales reporting of antimicrobials for veterinary use not included on List A is encouraged, in addition to the required reporting of those included on List A.
Who this applies to
The following persons submit sales reports for veterinary drugs containing APIs set out on List A: List of Certain Antimicrobial Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients:
- importers
- anyone importing such a drug into Canada for sale
- manufacturers
- anyone who sells such a drug in Canada under their own trade name or mark controlled by them
- compounders
- anyone (for example a veterinarian or pharmacist) who compounds a product for veterinary use using antimicrobial ingredients on List A that are sourced as (i.e. meaning any of the following inputs into the final compounded product):
- an API set out on List A (such as the raw ingredient)
- a human drug in dosage form (e.g. products with a drug identification number - DIN) containing an API set out on List A
- a veterinary drug in dosage form (e.g. products with a DIN) containing an API set out on List A, in particular when compounded for food-producing animals
- anyone (for example a veterinarian or pharmacist) who compounds a product for veterinary use using antimicrobial ingredients on List A that are sourced as (i.e. meaning any of the following inputs into the final compounded product):
How to report
If you are an importer, manufacturer, or compounder of veterinary antimicrobials on List A, contact us at vasr-vavr@hc-sc.gc.ca to be added to the Veterinary Antimicrobial Sales Reporting (VASR) system to report annual sales. Provide the following information:
- Name of company or individual(s) reporting
- Email address and telephone number
- Whether the company is a manufacturer, importer or compounder
- Preferred language
Annual highlights reports
The following highlights reports reflect the key findings from the annual sales reports submitted by manufacturers, importers and compounders. These data provide a comprehensive picture of antimicrobials available for use in animals in Canada.
The Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) has launched interactive data which includes findings from the Veterinary Antimicrobial Sales Reporting system.
For more information
- Responsible use of Medically Important Antimicrobials in Animals
- Post-market re-evaluation of medically important antimicrobials for veterinary use
- Antimicrobial resistance
- The Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS)
- Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System Executive summary 2023
- Compliance and Enforcement Policy (POL-0001)