Materiality

Increased AMR – which is amplified by the overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture – could render some, or all, of the antibiotics that animal pharmaceutical companies sell ineffective. Despite this, no company publicly recognises the material risk AMR could have on its business. 

Reporting Revenue Data

In 2022, only three of the selected companies reported revenue from antibiotics. Encouragingly, 2023 saw four companies provide revenue disclosure. 

Sales and Marketing Practices

It is unclear how the companies’ sales and marketing practices align with their stated positions on AMR stewardship, with all continuing to sell antibiotics for routine purposes. Three companies still appear to sell antibiotics for growth promotion, contradictory to WHO guidelines. 

Responsible Manufacturing Practices

Although all companies disclose some details of manufacturing policies or programmes, no company provides comprehensive disclosure on how it ensures that unsafe levels of antibiotic residues do not enter the environment. Only one company explicitly states that antimicrobials are covered by its Pharmaceuticals in the Environment programme.  

Investing in Alternatives

With more stringent regulation on antibiotic use coming into effect, animal pharmaceutical companies are well positioned to capitalise on the growth opportunity presented by the development of alternatives to antibiotics. While all companies have exposure to and are in some capacity investing in alternatives to antibiotics, no company in the engagement discloses revenue from alternatives to antibiotics or the percentage of R&D spend on products that would fit in such a category.  

Antimicrobial Stewardship & Lobbying

Four companies have comprehensive disclosures on their stewardship efforts, though no company has publicly identified what success looks like for each stewardship initiative or quantified the extent to which the initiatives have reduced antibiotic use or mitigated the development of AMR.  

No company discloses sufficient information to allow investors to assess how political expenditures and lobbying activities carried out by the company or its industry organisations align with the company’s position on AMR or promote the responsible use of antibiotics.