Euro Anti-Infectives Market Growth

Europe is seeing lower numbers of in-patients treated withanti-infectives and fewer days' therapy, says IMS Pharma Strategy Group. More patients now receive antibiotics for prophylaxis in Germany, Italy, France, the UK and Spain as a proportion of total usage; Italy has always had a far larger prophylactic use, but apart from a slight rise in France, prophylactic use fell from an average of 5.9 days in Germany, Italy and Spain in 1995 to 5.2 days in 1996.

Most anti-infective therapy drugs are still associated with established infection, and the duration of treatment has not fallen; indeed, it has risen uniformly for patients initially classified as seriously or critically ill, says IMS. The practice of hospitalizing patients until antibiotic treatment is completed continues in Germany and Italy, which have seen no rise in earlier discharge on therapy, as in other countries.

Despite calls for more use of oral drugs, even in hospitals, only in Germany has this occurred; oral therapy rose to 48% of total therapy days from 44% in 1995. Oral therapy has fallen particularly in France, from 59% of therapy days in 1995 to 50% in 1996. The only significant intramuscular market remains Italy, and this has been declining steeply over recent years.