Generic drugs fail to improve their market penetration

Generic drugs may be gaining ground in Greece in recent years, especially as a result of state measures to rationalize expenditure in pharmaceuticals during the bailouts, but the market penetration target has yet to be reached.

A study on the sector published on Monday by the ICAP Group showed that generic drugs in Greece accounted for just 18 percent in value and 23 percent in volume of the local pharmaceuticals market.

The size of the local generic drugs market has been growing constantly, with the majority of companies active in the Greece featuring generic products in their portfolios both on the production and development level, and in imports.

However, the market’s value has shown a steady decline in recent years, mainly because of the reduction in drugs prices. Its market share has, as a result, contracted from 18.5 percent in 2015 and 18.3 percent in 2016 to 18 percent in 2017.

A drug industry insider tells Kathimerini that the penetration of generic drugs in hospitals remains particularly low, stressing that the target of 40 percent for the penetration of generic drugs “is not being achieved.”