US group Pfizer, the world’s largest drugmaker last year logged sales worth more than $45 million on the Romanian market, up 14% in US dollars from 2002.
Last year was a very difficult time for the Romanian drug market, with the negative effects of the arrearage having also been felt by the world leaders.
“We had to restructure our commercial operations, trying to sell more on the retail segment, which was not hurt by the arrears plaguing the state health system. Moreover, we had to change our personnel policy, hiring fewer people because of the uncertain times. Let’s not forget that Pfizer is one of the biggest American employers in Romania,” Regis Lhomme, Pfizer country manager for Romania told Ziarul Financiar.
2003 was the first year when the Pfizer and Pharmacia branches fully operated as one entity, after Pfizer bought Pharmacia in 2002.
Pfizer’s sales went up 14% in 2003 as compared to the two companies’ cumulated sales in 2002.
After the integration of Pharmacia, Pfizer’s market share went up from 3.9% in 2002 to some 6% in 2003. The company now ranks third on the Romanian market, after GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis (Lek included). “Last year’s growth was due to Pfizer’s traditional drugs: cardiovascular, central nervous system, oncology, anti-infectious,” Lhomme says.
The American group is selling in Romania most of the drugs that post more than $1bn in annual sales worldwide: Norvasc (cardiovascular diseases), Viagra (erectile dysfunction), Celebrez – developed by Pharmacia (for arthritis) Sortis, Diflucan and Aricept (for Alzheimer’s).
According to corporate estimates, the Romanian drug market was worth some 600 million euros last year, up 5% from 2002. This stagnation follows a period of four-five years, when consumption actually doubled. The market has been hurt by the Romanian State’s inability to pay even for the drugs it had purchased back in 2002.
Early this year, the State’s debts to the medical suppliers amounted to 250 million euros.
“The main effect of the failure to pay the debts accumulated in the health system was the loss of credibility. It was a shock for us to see how a protocol signed by the State’s highest authorities in this field was not eventually enforced,” Regis Lhomme states.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro