For the first time an explanation comes up as to why even though Romania spends 15% to 25% more on drugs every year, everyone is unhappy with the performance of the healthcare system. The government reimbursed more than EUR1.5 billion for pharmaceuticals in 2011 compared with over EUR800 million in 2005. That year, a pill pack cost 9.54 lei (EUR2.14), while last year it cost RON22.1, according to Cegedim.
“There is a preference for using expensive drugs,” says Dragos Damian, chief executive officer of Terapia Ranbaxy, one of the largest local pharmaceutical producers. He says that more than 1,000 cheap products have disappeared from the market over the last few years and that the government should protect local production. As a result, the number of original drugs sold is higher than that of generic drugs (which start being made after the patent expires).
The average price of an imported product (almost RON39 in 2011) is almost five times higher than a local product’s (almost RON8), Cegedim data reveal.
The largest Romanian pharmaceutical producers, some of which hold brands with an over fifty-year history behind them, hardly have a say in the battle with the international giants, which have much higher promotional budgets and a negotiating power to match.
The 15 largest local pharmaceutical producers posted EUR315 million revenue together last year, which accounts for 12% of a Romanian drug market dominated by importers, according to Cegedim.
Other explanations for the increase in the drug price are the depreciation of the leu and the difficult market, which makes companies keep only part of the products, people in the industry say.
On the other hand, there are also those who say that the data accuracy is affected by the parallel exports, which account for 18% of the market. Parallel exports mean buying products from Romania where the prices are lower and reselling them to those countries where the price is higher. They should therefore not be taken into account when analyzing the market because they only involved expensive products.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)