Producers: Medicine use in Romania, lowest in EU

Romania is last in the European Union for the medicine use per capita, as Romanians lack access to proper therapy solutions, according to the Industrial Medicine Producers in Romania (PRIMER). The Romanian pharma market reached some EUR 2.6 billion in 2017 producer prices wise, a growth of 4% year-on-year. But local medicine producers have seen their market share significantly going down in the last decade, from 40% in 2006, to some 23% in 2016. The state budget covered half of the producer prices in 2017, or some EUR 75 per capita, which was the lowest allocation in the EU. This budget reimbursement allocation hasn’t changed since 2011, and medicine prices have frozen since 2015 to the lowest level in the EU, argue medicine producers. These prices also include a 25% clawback tax, which has removed over 2,000 cheap medicine from the market. Patients thus have to buy the more expensive drug alternatives, so their perception is that drug prices have increased. PRIMER includes 16 of the most important pharma producers in Romania: AC Helcor, Antibiotice, B. Braun, Bio-Eel SRL, Biofarm, Gedeon-Richter, Labormed-Alvogen, Laropharm, Magistra CC, Polisano Pharmaceuticals, Ropharma, Santa SA, Slavia Pharm, Zentiva, Terapia-Sun Pharma, VIM Spectrum. editor@romania-insider.com