Swedish OTC held back by state monopoly

Sweden's already-liberal environment for switching of prescription-onlymedicines to non-prescription status is expected to experience an increased pace of activity, as political pressure for cost-saving measures increases, according to a survey of the Swedish over-the-counter market published in the February issue of OTC News and Market Report.

The Swedish OTC-registered market grew 5% in the year to November 2000, to reach a value of 2.9 billion kroner ($304.8 million), a similar rate of growth to that of the prescription drug market, and represented almost 9% of the total national pharmaceuticals market, says the report.

OTC market expansion is forecast to continue at around 4% annually, although many in the industry believe that full growth potential is being held back by the fact that all approved pharmaceutical products in the country have to be distributed by Apoteket AB, the state-run national corporation of Swedish pharmacies.