Drug sales in Romania last year rose by 18.7% in lei (19.6% in euros), to 9.6bn lei (2.28bn euros), with the best performance being registered in the first six months of the year, according to the data provided by Cegedim Romania market research firm.
In April, the Health Ministry updated the prices of prescription
drugs, namely allowed for their prices to be raised by 6%, a move
that pushed the drug market up. Thus, with second quarter increase,
the market at that time reached record growth of 35% and then lost
momentum before posting an increase of just 4.4% in lei (3.8% in
euros) in the fourth quarter.
The figures on the pharmaceutical market come shortly after similar
data were published with regard to the insurance and car markets,
both of them in decline. In recent years, the pharmaceutical market
has been one of the few industries of Romania that have been immune
to the crisis despite contractions in other fields.
“The annual increase was surprising for 2010, particularly against
the trend of other industries of Romania, but this is because to
the first half performance,” said Petru Crăciun, general manager of
Cegedim Romania.