A factor in the decline in 2015 was the more than 10% drop in the sales of prescription drugs (Rx), which account for about 70% of the market.
“The price cut for prescription drugs as of July 1 caused a significant decline of the segment in pharmacies (7.1% in volume in the fourth quarter of 2015), and this segment is the most important on the market by value and therapeutic importance,” says Petru Craciun, general manager of Cegedim.
“Usually an over 5% decline for Rx drugs is an alert threshold for availability of treatment. Many prescription drugs are no longer available or difficult to find.”
The market saw a 10.7% increase in the first quarter, and then sales dropped 4% in the second quarter, according to Cegedim data. Decline worsened to almost 10% in the third quarter and then to 14% in the fourth quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2014.
In Romania, as in the entire EU, the Health Ministry sets the price of prescription drugs that are on the subsidized drug list. The Romanian legislation stipulates that the price is revised every year, which did not happen until last summer.
Sales of over-the-counter drugs somewhat offset the decline of the market, having gone up almost 15% in January-December 2015. (EUR1=RON4.4852)
English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu