Drug sales up 20%

Drug sales on the local market reached 5.47 bn RON (1.55bn euros) last year, a 19.2% increase, according to research company Cegedim Romania. “The last quarter of 2006 saw the increase in growth pace of the total market, marking a significant revival, after an initial rough start,” reports Cegedim. Drug retail through drugstores saw the highest growth last year (plus 25%), while sales to hospitals increased by a mere 1.2%. Prescription drugs (Rx) totalled 3.44bn RON (977 million euros) in 2006, 25.7% more than in 2005. Non-prescription drugs also saw a considerable rise, reaching 897 million RON (254.5 million euros), according to Cegedim. “A 20% increase is a minimum increase, which we expect to happen again this year. So, for the next five years, consumption seen in Romania could approach the levels in Hungary, the Czech Republic or Slovakia,” said Marius Savu, general manager of Eli Lilly Romania, the 11th biggest player on the local market, according to Cegedim.