Poland's drug market up 4% in first 7 months

Poland's drug market grew 4% in the first seven months of the year compared with the equivalent period in 2005, according to figures published by IMS Health. However, with the Polish government increasingly adopting policies aimed at boosting local drugmakers' share of the market, foreign firms experienced a sharp fall in revenue.

Krakow, Poland-based market research firm, PMR, estimates that the country's drug market growth for the whole of 2006 will be 5.1%, a slowdown from the 6.5% for last year. The trend is expected to continue with forecasts of 4% market expansion next year, as cuts in government reimbursement levels continue to bite. The growing willingness and ability of Polish patients to shop around for cheaper substitute drugs is also a factor in the containment of drug spending increases.

According to PharmaExpert, a leading consulting firm which specializes in central and eastern Europe, there are currently 200 wholesale drug firms in Poland, but only about 20 of them are expected to survive new regulations by the country's Ministry of Health and the expected arrival of other European Union wholesalers.