Italian OTC sales lag rest of Europe

Italy's self-medication drugs sector failed to achieve the double-digitgrowth reported almost everywhere else in Europe in 2000. Italian over-the-counter drug sales rose only 0.9% to 3,556 billion lire ($1.63 billion), against an 11.5% increase in sales of prescription drugs.

As OTC sales have failed to take off, the sector association, Anifa, is preparing to confront the government with a string of requests (Marketletter February 19), prefaced by claims of self-medication's importance, not only as a form of health benefit but also as a source of economic growth.

It is reported that Italian sales last year of OTCs for which there had been promotional spending rose 1.5% to 2,402 billion lire, or 67.6% of the total market, compared with a rise of only 0.2% to 1,153 billion lire for products not linked to promotional spending.