Czech Pharma Market Dominated By Imports

The association of the Czech pharmaceutical industry, SCFP, reportsthat drugs worth 28.27 billion koruna ($827.4 million) were consumed in the Czech Republic in 1996, notes CTK Business News. 77.27% of the total were imported, with Slovakian drugs accounting for 10.88% of imports and products from other countries representing 66.39%.

SCFP member companies, which include Leciva, Spofa, Galena and Lachema, accounted for 20.89% of the total value of medicines consumed in the Republic last year, and 40.36% of volume, says the report. Other Czech medicine producers accounted for 1.84% of all medicines by value and 1.96% by volume.

Concerning the volume of drugs sold, the ratio between imported and locally-produced medicines is exactly the opposite, notes the association, with imports from countries other than Slovakia accounting for only 32.33% of the total volume. This is because medicines produced in the Czech Republic are far cheaper than imported ones.