Argentina approves Colombian foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, signalling potential market shift

Argentina has approved a Colombian foot-and-mouth disease vaccine for sale, opening the door to increased competition and supply, though distribution remains pending regulatory review.

Argentina has cleared a Colombian foot-and-mouth disease vaccine for sale, in a move that could widen supply in a market long criticised for limited competition. The approval was granted by the national sanitary authority, Senasa, for Aftogán, a product made by Vecol, Colombia’s state-owned veterinary biologics laboratory.

Desregulation minister Federico Sturzenegger said the authorisation should help create a more competitive environment, noting that Vecol is already a major supplier in Uruguay, where it reportedly sells about 6 million doses a year. But he stressed that the decision is only a marketing approval and does not yet mean the vaccine can be distributed immediately in Argentina.

That caution was echoed by Laboratorios Calier, the Spanish group that filed the registration locally. Alan Wauters, general manager of Calier Argentina, said further documentation, technical reviews and additional tests are still required before any commercial launch. He said the company could not yet estimate a market price and does not expect the product to reach farmers in the short term.

The approval follows a series of regulatory changes in 2025 and 2026 designed to streamline imports and registrations of veterinary vaccines that have already been authorised under equivalence schemes. Officials say the aim is to preserve sanitary standards while reducing barriers to entry and bringing down costs for producers.

Source: Noah Wire Services