Cegedim reports 1.7% reduction in Romanian pharmaceutical market in 2009

2010-03-05

According to Cegedim, in 2009 the Romanian pharmaceutical market declined by 1.7% to €1,91bn, whereas in national currency the market grew by 13.1% to RON 8.1bn. In terms of volume there was a 9.1% reduction. Cegedim assessed the market value in pharmacy purchase prices. Its figures are based on other methodology and are, therefore, different from the market data presented by IMS Health which suggested that in 2009 the Romanian pharmaceutical market would grow by 3.1% in value to €2.07bn and decline by 4.5% in terms of volume.
According to Cegedim, in 2009 there was a strong trend towards market consolidation. The sales of the leading 20 companies grew by 22.4% to €1.5bn, whereas the market shares of the 20 largest manufacturers reached 80% in 2009, in contrast to 70% one year ago.
In the retail subdivision the revenues of 47% of pharmacies in 2009 fell short of the RON 1.4m (€0.34m) annual sales average, and only 24% earned revenues which exceeded the average. Payments to drug suppliers accounted for 85.5% of pharmacy revenues, and the sales margins of smaller pharmacies became too low in 2009 to maintain business profitability.
According to Cegedim, it is too early to identify the key component of the development of the Romanian pharmaceutical market in 2010. Vendors of pharmaceuticals are expected to try to maintain existing sales levels but might, sooner or later, be forced to revise their product portfolios and their positions on the market. In retail the most important issue is the constant series of delays in drug reimbursement payments from the health budget: this prevents pharmacies from balancing liquidity, and the bankruptcy of up to 75% of drug retailers is a genuine possibility.
In 2010 Cegedim expects the market to decline by 2-3% in euro valuation and by 10% in terms of volume.