IMS Health: Romanian Pharmaceutical Market Up 5.6% In First Quarter, To EUR637M

05.05.2011 By Andrei Circhelan

The Romanian pharmaceutical has slowed its growth in the first quarter this year, rising 5.6% on the year, to EUR637 million, helped by over-the-counter and retail sales, according to market research firm IMS Health.

"The local market registered modest growth, of 5.6% in euro, because of cash flow problems and uncertainty regarding compensated medicine," IMS Health Romania general manager Corina Ciolan told MEDIAFAX.

Calculated in local currency, first quarter medicine sales rose 8.3% on the year, to some RON2.7 billion.

By volume, medicine sales widened by 5.8%, to some 133 million units, from 125.7 million units in the same interval of 2010.

Drug store sales rose 9.2% to RON2.43 billion, hospital sales rose 0.7% to RON258.3 million.

Retail volumes grew 7.1% on the year, while hospital volumes narrowed by 11%.

Prescription drug sales reached RON2.37 billion, up 7.9% on the year, while over-the-counter medicine sales reached RON311 million, up 11.3% on the year.

Prescription drug volumes rose 12.5%, to 36.47 million units, while OTC volumes rose 3.4% to 96.5 million units.

According to the IMS Health report, French group Sanofi-Aventis (including Zentiva) posted the highest sales in the first quarter, namely RON245.6 million.

Runners-up in the sales chart are Swiss Hoffman La Roche (without Terapia) - RON214.7 million and British GlaxoSmithKline (including Europharm) - RON188.56 million.

IMS Health supplies market research services for the pharmaceutical and healthcare segments. The group is active in over 100 countries worldwide.