„I am convinced that more than 600 independent pharmacies will become partners of Benefica by the end of the year,” said Ovidiu Buluc, founder and general manager of Farmexim.
The Benefica program was launched mid-March and Ovidiu Buluc also controls pharmacy chain Help Net, which has a portfolio of some 200 pharmacies.
The model of programs dedicated to independent pharmacies was also followed by other two of the large wholesalers on the profile market, namely, Mediplus, through the Respiro program, and Farmexpert, through the Alphega brand. The representatives of the two companies said they have integrated some 600 independent pharmacies each, to date.
The three pharmaceutical wholesalers are expected to reach a total 1,800 integrated pharmacies at the end of 2017, under the programs aimed at supporting independent units.
In 2015, the last for which public data are available, Romania had some 7,750 pharmacies. The top five players on the pharmaceutical retail sector have a total 1,729 pharmacies and hold 20% of the overall market, according to Romania’s statistics board INS.