Strong growth for UK pharmacy market

The UK's aging population and changing consumer trends are seeing pharmacies increasingly used as the first port of call for health care and primary care services, says a new report from Verdict Research, part of the Datamonitor Group. These factors and initiatives to move primary health care services out of general practitioner's surgeries and into communities will fuel strong growth in the UK's L12.8 billion ($24.28 billion) retail pharmacy market, as well as ongoing consolidation.

The two main users of pharmacies - the under 14s and the over 65s - are the largest age groups in the population and the 65 plus age group will grow the fastest of any demographic group - one in five people will be 65 plus in 2020. This alone, says Verdict Research, will ensure continual volume growth for prescription dispensing, a major part of pharmacy income.

Furthermore, it says, consumers' propensity for convenience, self-medication and instant treatment, and the willingness to pay for it, plus government policy in using pharmacies to promote good health care and take up the strain on the National Health Service will heighten pharmacy demand further. The new pharmacy contract, and required provision of services and health checks, will make all pharmacies integral in the general health care of the population, but they are also meeting the demands of a society that is constantly mobile and seeks access to health care at any time and in any place