“This is the result of the clawback tax. We paid around RON40 million, 15 million more than we’d planned,” said Dragos Damian, Terapia CEO.
The company operates on a market worth RON12.3 billion (EUR2.76 billion), tightly regulated by the state, which is as a matter of fact the biggest client, generating over 60% of sales.
“We’re readying for worse in 2015 because of the planned price cuts,” added Damian.
The company’s best-selling drugs were in the OTC category. “This year we’ll launch OTC meds in the ranges we have. We will not launch prescription drugs,” said Damian.
In 2014, Terapia exports reached RON100 million (EUR25 million), flat from 2013. Terapia head expects the pharma market to contract by at least 10% this year, “unless new products are added to the list of compensated drugs”, in which case the market will remain flat.
The latest projection by market research company Cegedim Romania indicates a 3.5% increase of the market, after sales reached RON12.29 billion last year.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)