Ethical Marketing of Veterinary Pharmaceuticals

Marketing is the total activities by which the transfer of goods from seller to buyer is affected. Veterinarians have a wide range of feeling about marketing of veterinary pharmaceuticals as it relates to food animal practice. Some veterinarians embrace pharmaceutical sales as part of their practice and routinely dispense both legend and over-the-counter (OTC) products to their clients. Others attempt to distance themselves from any phase of the marketing process, but if a veterinarian is involved in food animal practice and authorizes the use of legend drugs, they are involved and assume the liability associated with their use. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act mandates this involvement by requiring legend veterinary drugs be dispensed only by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian in the course of their professional practice.