Spain To Free Up Pharmacy Controls

New recommendations relating to competition have been made in Spain which will affect pharmacies, among other sectors, reports Cinco Dias, the Spanish financial daily.

The Spanish committee dealing with the protection of competition has proposed more freedom in the setting-up of pharmacies. It has suggested that owners of pharmacies should no longer have to be qualified pharmacists, and that references to minimum distances between pharmacies and the number of inhabitants in the area should be dropped.

The pharmacy sector is one of the most regulated sectors in Spain, and the committee is suggesting a five-year transition period to adopt these proposals. Other changes that have been put forward include: allowing discounts on the prices of medicines; lifting sales restrictions on certain products outside pharmacies; and the freeing up of opening hours of pharmacies, with set minimum opening times.