A marketing authorisation holder may send a direct animal healthcare professional communication (DaHPC) to veterinarians and other animal healthcare professionals to inform them of important new safety information about a veterinary medicine and any actions they should take.  The European Medicines Agency (EMA) publishes DaHPCs agreed at European Union (EU) level, as of February 2022.

DaHPCs serve to inform veterinarians and other animal healthcare professionals of, for example:

  • a suspension, withdrawal or revocation of a marketing authorisation for safety reasons;
  • an important change, for example a restriction of indication, a new contraindication or a change in the recommended dose;
  • a veterinary medicine supply shortage;
  • quality problems with a veterinary medicine.

DaHPCs agreed at EU level include a topic-specific communication plan specifying the intended recipients and the dissemination date.

National competent authorities may adapt the text agreed at EU level to their specific situation, so the final letter a veterinarian or other animal healthcare professional receives may differ slightly from the version published on the EMA website.

For more information, guidance and templates, see:

Guideline on veterinary good pharmacovigilance practices (VGVP) - Module: Veterinary pharmacovigilance communication

AdoptedLegal effective date: Reference Number: EMA/63454/2021

English (EN) (320.27 KB - PDF)

First published:
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DaHPCs published by EMA

For a list of DaHPCs agreed at EU level and published by EMA, see:

DaHPCs published by national competent authorities

National competent authorities publish DHPCs in their official languages.

For a list of EU veterinary national competent authorities, see National competent authorities (veterinary).

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