Medicinal product turnover in Latvia was 336 million euros in 2015
The total turnover of medicinal products in Latvia has constantly increased over the last couple of years. Since 2011 the annual turnover has been close to 300 million euros (including VAT) reaching 336 million euros in 2015 which consisted of the turnover of authorised medicinal products worth 332 million euros and turnover of unauthorised medicinal products worth four million euros. Those are the basic conclusions of the experts of the State Agency of Medicines upon processing the statistical data on consumption of medicines in 2015.
The turnover for Latvian medicines manufacturers in the local market has increased by approximately four million euros since 2011 reaching 16 million euros in 2015 and making up 4.7% of the total amount of medicines sold in Latvia. Meldonium containing medicines have had the highest sales figures in euros among Latvian medicines manufacturers, but the highest number of packages sold were for medicines manufactured in Latvia containing the following combination of active substances: paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid and caffeine.
Same as last year the medicines with the highest consumption were for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (33%), followed by medicines for the treatment of gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases (24%), diseases of the nervous system (10%), diseases of the blood and hematopoietic organs (10%) and other organs. The highest demand for non-prescription (over the counter) medicines in 2015 according to the international non-proprietary name was for medicines containing acetylsalicylic acid and ibuprofen.
In 2015 the average price for a package of medicines authorised in Latvia was slightly above 7 euros and it has increased by 3% in comparison to the previous year. The average price for a packaging of unauthorised medicines in 2015 was approximately 17 euros and that is an increase of 18%.
The State Agency of Medicines has prepared and published the annual statistics report on consumption of medicines within the state. The report includes information regarding total turnover of medicines in euros, number of packages, distribution of turnover according to separate consumer groups, dispensing status of medicines, as well as information regarding the medicinal products with the highest sales figures in Latvia and regarding consumption of medicines expressed as defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day (DID).
The statistical data on consumption of medicines may be used to evaluate the trends in the consumption of medicines in Latvia with regard to both the quality and quantity, that is, changes in the consumption of specific medicinal products in a group of medicines, appearance of new active substances in a group of medicines and how fast it occurs, as well as the volume of medicinal product consumption, e.g., to evaluate the ratio between the consumption of broad and narrow spectrum antibiotics or to identify a potentially excessive consumption of some medicines.
