Virbac Launches Prevexto in UK With Up to Eight Months of Flea and Tick Protection

Virbac has launched Prevexto, a long-acting parasiticide collar in the UK combining flumethrin and imidacloprid for flea and tick control in cats and dogs.

The product is now authorised in Great Britain for cats and dogs, with the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) listing Virbac as the marketing authorisation holder. The Great Britain authorisations date from 3 July 2025.

Prevexto Combines Flumethrin and Imidacloprid

Prevexto uses two established ectoparasiticidal active ingredients:

• Imidacloprid — targets fleas, flea larvae and biting lice.

• Flumethrin — provides acaricidal and repellent/anti-feeding activity against ticks.

Virbac says the ingredients are continuously released from a polymer matrix and distributed through the pet’s skin and coat lipid layer, providing head-to-tail topical protection.

The UK product is available in different collar presentations for cats, dogs up to 8 kg and dogs over 8 kg.

Up to Eight Months of Flea and Tick Protection

The principal commercial proposition is long duration. Virbac states that Prevexto provides up to eight months of continuous tick protection, while protection against adult fleas is approximately seven to eight months, depending on the indication.

The VMD’s public assessment documentation specifies that, in cats, the product provides 7–8 months of treatment/prevention of flea infestation and 2–8 months of tick prevention, depending on the indication and tick species.

This extended duration potentially reduces the number of parasite-treatment interventions required each year, making compliance and protection continuity an important part of the product’s positioning.

Beyond Flea and Tick Control

Prevexto is also positioned around the growing veterinary concern over vector-borne diseases (VBDs).

Virbac states that the collar’s tick-repellent and killing activity helps reduce transmission risk for canine babesiosis and ehrlichiosis. The mechanism is particularly relevant because flumethrin acts against ticks before or during feeding rather than relying solely on systemic exposure after a parasite has taken a blood meal.

However, the distinction between parasite control and disease prevention is important. The product’s authorised indications and specific claims should be interpreted according to the UK product information rather than assuming that elimination of all vector-borne disease risk is possible.

A Compliance-Focused Product Proposition

Long-acting parasite control has become an important area of competition in companion-animal health.

The clinical value of extended-duration products is not simply convenience. Missed or delayed applications can create gaps in parasite protection. A single collar designed for several months can therefore address one of the practical challenges of maintaining continuous ectoparasite control.

Virbac explicitly identifies increased compliance as one of Prevexto’s product benefits. The collar also incorporates safety features, including a controlled-expansion mechanism and a breakaway point for cats and small dogs, according to Virbac.

UK Regulatory Status

The VMD database confirms Prevexto registrations in Great Britain for:

The Great Britain products carry NFA-VPS distribution status in the VMD database. Northern Ireland has separately authorised corresponding Prevexto presentations, with the larger-dog presentation authorised from June 2025.

Competitive Significance for the UK Pet-Parasite Market

Prevexto enters a highly established UK ectoparasiticide market, but its positioning is differentiated by the combination of flumethrin + imidacloprid, collar-based delivery and extended duration.

The strategic competition is increasingly moving beyond simply asking whether a product kills fleas and ticks. Manufacturers are competing around:

Duration → compliance → convenience → vector-borne disease risk reduction → multi-pet household management.

For Virbac, Prevexto also strengthens its companion-animal parasitology portfolio and provides another platform for veterinarians seeking longer-duration parasite-control options.

What the Launch Signals for Animal Health

The Prevexto launch highlights a continuing trend in companion-animal health toward longer-acting parasite-control technologies. For pet owners, the proposition is straightforward: fewer treatment interventions and potentially fewer protection gaps.

For veterinary practices and animal-health companies, the more important commercial question is adherence—whether longer-duration delivery systems can improve real-world parasite-control coverage compared with products requiring more frequent administration.

As vector-borne diseases remain an important veterinary concern, products combining ectoparasite efficacy with anti-feeding or repellent activity are likely to remain an important competitive segment.

Bottom Line

Virbac’s UK launch of Prevexto adds a long-duration flumethrin/imidacloprid collar to the companion-animal parasiticide market, offering up to eight months of flea and tick protection depending on the indication.

The product’s key strategic differentiators are extended duration, topical dual-active delivery, compliance and vector-borne disease risk reduction. Its UK authorisation provides the regulatory foundation for the launch, while the commercial opportunity will depend on veterinary adoption, owner compliance and competitive positioning within an increasingly crowded parasite-control market.