On 24 October 2025, the French Competition Authority (FCA) published its opinion on the veterinary sector which ostensibly focuses on the prices of medicines for veterinary use and of veterinary healthcare but also addresses other issues such as market concentration and relationships in the supply chain (see, attached FCA press release (in French and in English) and FCA report (only in French)). The French inquiry is just one in a series of veterinary market investigations around Europe, including the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (see, Van Bael & Bellis Life Sciences News and Insights of 15 October 2025).
 
The key findings of the report are as follows: 

• Market concentration – There is a growing presence on the market of both groups of veterinarians and groups of investors who bring in third-party capital to support veterinary businesses (referred to by the report as “corporates”). The FCA is concerned that this may lead to excessive levels of market concentration in specific geographical areas and has signalled its determination to use the competition rules to stop this trend, even in cases in which specific transactions, because of their limited size, do not fall under the scope of the merger control rules. If that happens, the FCA will rely on Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 102 of the TFEU, as well as equivalent provisions of French law, to review the acquisitions.
• Buying groups – The report discusses the importance of buying groups (“centrales de négociation”) which negotiate the commercial terms that govern the purchase of medicines by veterinarians. The FCA has investigated complaints against such buying groups (e.g., the complaint that specific commercial terms restrict the prescription autonomy of veterinarians) but has dismissed them all. The FCA also rejected claims that the buying groups abused a state of supposed dependency of specific medicine suppliers.

Ethical rules – Specific ethical rules governing the veterinarian profession restrict competition and should be abandoned. Conversely, the report also advocates for new rules that would make particular aspects of the offerings of veterinarians more transparent for consumers.