314 Rx drug brands withdrawn from Romanian market in 2009

2010-02-23

Last year, 314 brands of Rx drugs, of a total of 3,015 prescription brands available in Romania in 2008 and 2009, left the Romanian market, according to Cegedim. At the same time, the sales of 499 Rx drug brands declined by more than 50%, and it is highly probable that most of these medicines will be withdrawn from the pharmacy retail market in 2010. In 2009 Romanian distributors also stopped selling 233 OTC pharmaceuticals.
One of the reasons for the fall in the number of products present on the Romanian pharmaceutical market is the reduction in sales revenues caused by cuts in public health spending on drug reimbursement. Another reason is inconsistent government policy, as the regulation of drug prices introduced in 2009 prompted pharmaceutical companies to stop selling cheaper products. As proof of this, Cegedim Romania revealed that the average price of the withdrawn Rx drugs was €4.77, whereas the average cost of their counterparts remaining on the market is €14.77.