“We are unable to easily advance a figure regarding investments for the launch of new products in the past few years, but we can confirm that 2008 was a peak year for Romania. In terms of relative regional attractiveness, Romania held top spot at the end of 2007, while at the end of 2008 it is in 10th place, according to BMI [Business Monitor International]”, said Craciun for Business Standard.
According to analyses carried out by Cegedim, of total sales in 2008, 32.5 percent were made up of products launched in the past five years.
“Without matching the level on western markets, Romania is a pharmaceutical market with a relatively high level of ‘new products’ in the region, even compared to countries such as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. This has been possible due to sustained activities by international companies, and of a high ‘out-of-pocket’ level, which allowed for the maintaining of a certain level of corresponding innovation and attractiveness,” added Cegedim’s General Manager.
In spite of efforts by companies to introduce the newest products onto the market, Romania remains far behind Western Europe, with only 5,500 drugs, compared to Germany’s 20,000. “The difference between these two markets is obviously in the level of maturity and sophistication.
Although last year was a peak year in terms of investments by multinationals in the pharmaceutical market, the experiences in 2008, and especially the price calculation method for 2009 indicate that perspectives for this year are fairly bleak.
