Finland's Pharmaceutical Market Growing

For the first six months of 1996, the pharmaceutical market in Finlandgrew 9% (at wholesale price level) to a value of 2.5 billion markka ($541.8 million). This is a slight slow down on 1995, when overall sales increased 10% to 4.69 billion markka.

Prescription medicine sales were up 11%, compared with only 2% for over-the-counter medicines. The latter, according to the European Proprietary Medicines Manufacturers' Association, accounted for 838 million markka of 1995 sales. This is equal to the European average of around 18% of total pharmaceutical turnover.

The AESGP also notes that self-regulatory controls play a central part in the marketing of OTC products in Finland, alongside the Code for Marketing Medicinal Products, a revised version of which came into effect January 1, 1997. The biggest change in this concerns the organization of the Supervisory Commission for the Marketing of Medicinal Products.