French drug Market "Will Decline 2%-4% This Year"

The leading French drug wholesale group, OCP, forecasts a 2% decline in the French drug market in 1995 and 1996, as doctors prescribe cheaper drugs and switch to generics at the government's behest. OCP president Jacques Ambonville says the market will drop 2%-4% by value and 5%-7% by volume. In 1994, the wholesale sector reported a volume decline of 4% and stagnation in value terms. However, OCP believes that beyond these two difficult years, the market will recover and expand because of the aging population.

Social Affairs Minister Simone Veil has said that measures are in hand to encourage cheaper prescribing, and she now has the support of the doctors' organization, MG France, which is to collaborate with Merck & Co of the USA on a project to cut prescription costs. Computer terminals will be installed in practices and doctors will be supplied with lists of drugs recommended for their value for money, on the lines of Merck's US Medco model.

The other problem facing OCP and other wholesalers is the attempt by drug companies to bypass them; direct sales through pharmacies have risen 20% in the last year. Combination product, ampoule and syrup sales, which are achieved without the involvement of wholesalers, have raised their market share from 8.5% to 10.5%. Direct selling now affects 30% of the most sought-after products, says OCP.