Romania's pharmaceutical market increases by 17% in first quarter

The sales of pharmaceutical products in Romania amounted to almost RON 3.8 billion (EUR 815 million) in the first quarter of this year, up by 17.3% compared to the same period of 2017, according to a report by pharmaceutical market research company Cegedim. In volume, the market increased by 6.6%, supported by a 6.6% increase in retail sales and 7.2% increase in sales to hospitals. The retail sales increased by 6.9% for the prescription drugs and 6.2% for OTC drugs. In the 12 months ended March 31, 2018, the pharmaceutical market in Romania reached RON 14.7 billion (EUR 3.15 billion), up 11.8% over the previous year. Sales of prescription drugs via drug stores reached RON 9.78 billion (EUR 2.1 billion), up 10.6% year-on-year, the OTC market amounted to RON 3.19 billion (EUR 686 million), up 16.5%, and drug sales to hospitals totaled RON 1.71 billion (EUR 368 million), up 10.4%. US group AbbVie went to the first place in terms of sales in the last 12 months, with RON 1.28 billion (EUR 275 million), followed by French group Sanofi – RON 1.01 billion (EUR 217 million) and French group Servier – RON 650 million (EUR 140 million). Romania’s pharmaceutical market heads to record sales in 2018 editor@romania-insider.com