VeganMed, Inc.
Nov 8, 2022
A multi-stakeholder review highlights significant gaps serving the medication needs of patients practicing an animal-free lifestyle and the importance of independent certification
Recently, a state-of-the-art review article has been published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. The article focuses on patients who are looking for animal-free medications and how healthcare professionals and the pharmaceutical industry can better meet their needs.
Key findings include:
3 out of 4 commonly-prescribed medications contain animal-based ingredients, while
animal-free alternatives exist for the most common ingredients.
Millions of patients prefer to not consume animal products due to religious,
animal-welfare, health-related or environmental reasons.
Healthcare professionals need to be better-equipped to incorporate patient preferences in medication selection.
Pharmaceutical companies are encouraged to label products without animal-derived
ingredients. Independent animal-free certification will give companies a competitive
advantage and also provide consumers the transparency they require to make informed
health decisions.
The review highlights that addressing the need for animal-free medications is a significant market opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry and also helps solve diversity and inclusion concerns. It is estimated that 6% of United States consumers are vegan, and in 2020 13% of
consumers in Asia and 4% of those in Europe identified as vegan, creating a substantial sub-sector within the 1.3 trillion USD global pharmaceutical market.
This publication is important because it is the first one to comprehensively embrace the needs of patients practicing an animal-free lifestyle and identifies how healthcare professionals and the pharmaceutical industry can support these patients through animal-free medications.
Lead co-authors are Lena Tieu, Pharm.D. and Jasmine Uchi, Pharm.D. Other co-authors are
Nirva Patel, JD.; Mihir Meghani, M.D.; Padmaja Patel, M.D.; and Yen Nguyen, Pharm.D.
Authors disclosures are on the manuscript.
Publication link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15598276221135538
About the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
The American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine is a peer-reviewed resource for practitioners
seeking to incorporate lifestyle practices into clinical medicine. It is the official journal of the
American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the medical professional society for physicians and
other professionals dedicated to clinical and worksite practice of lifestyle medicine as the
foundation of a transformed and sustainable health care system.