Further changes expected in Central Europe's pharma distribution in 2010

The fall in the number of pharmacies in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria, the consolidation processes among leading Polish wholesalers and the authorization of the on-line sale of pharmaceuticals in Slovakia were the most important trends and events in distribution in the Central European region in 2009, according to the latest report by PMR, a Polish research and consulting company, titled 'Distribution on the pharmaceutical market in Central Europe 2010. Comparative analysis of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria.'

Pharmacy market saturated

2009 brought a reduction in the number of pharmacies in some Central European countries. In Poland the number has been falling since mid-2009. The weak economy is not the only cause of this development. The main reason for the reduction in pharmacy numbers is market saturation, which has caused many outlets to operate at a loss.

Similar problems are being faced by other countries in the region. In the Czech Republic, in 2008 the number of pharmacies began to fall for the first time since 1990. About 400 pharmacies may soon go bankrupt in Hungary because the government has removed non-repayable subsidies for pharmacies from this year's budget. Several hundred pharmacies also went bankrupt in Bulgaria in 2009, and several hundred more are on the verge of bankruptcy because of the effects on performance of the economic crisis, lower mark-ups and recent changes in the law, says PMR.