The 20% price cut for prescription drugs, which has been applied in Romania since July 1, has led to a 16.2% decrease in the sales of prescription drugs in Romania in the third quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2014, to EUR 416 million according to Pharma & Hospital Report by market research company Cegedim.

The overall drug sales in Romania went down by 10% in the third quarter, to EUR 617 million, reports local Economica.net.

The price cut, which made prescription drugs in Romania the cheapest in Europe, has also had negative effects, as some drugs have disappeared from the market or became very hard to find.

In the first nine months of 2015, the total drug sales in Romania went down by 1.2% compared to the same period of 2014, to under EUR 2 billion.

editor@romania-insider.com