Madrid, February 10th 2014.- The average price of prescription only medicines in Spain has experimented a sharp fall during the last few years, according to data displayed in the latest issue of the Spanish Pharmaceutical Market Monthly Bulletin (#104), produced by Farmaindustria. Average public expenditure per prescription for those medicines reimbursed by the Spanish NHS has declined from a peak of 13.45 € per prescription in 2008 to 10.68 at the end of 2013.

Moreover, medicines with the lowest prices, those with a retail price under 3.5 €, account for 50% of the whole prescription only market in Spain, much higher than the 37% which was registered in 2008. On the other hand, medicines with retails prices over 20 € have decreased, during this same period, from a market share of over 20% to barely 15%.

This evolution is caused by two different factors. Firstly, it is due to the effectiveness the Reference Price System has as an economic regulatory tool on the Spanish pharmaceutical market, and secondly, the slow pace for incorporating innovations within this five-year period.

Spain moves away from the Euro zone.

Additionally, this Spanish Pharmaceutical Market Monthly Bulletin includes the latest available data for public pharmaceutical expenditure in the Euro zone for OECD, corresponding to 2011, which reflects that public pharmaceutical expenditure per capita in Spain was 13.9% below the Euro zone’s average (265 € versus 307.9 € per capita, respectively).

Besides, in 2011 the Spanish situation had worsened when compared with the previous year, given that in 2010 the negative differential compared to the Euro zone was -8.8% (290 € versus 318.4 € per capita, respectively).

Furthermore, it is very likely that the relative situation in Spain -in this particular item- has been worsening during 2012 and 2013, considering the sharp drop in public pharmaceutical expenditure which was registered during these two terms is, most likely, much higher than that experienced by the total of the Euro zone countries together, which could currently place this differential, according to Farmaindustria estimates, at around -20%.

The Spanish Pharmaceutical Market Monthly Bulletin #104 is available at

http://prensa.farmaindustria.es

 Additional information: Farmaindustria Communications Department

Phone.: 91.5159350

e-mail: blozano@farmaindustria.es;

dgil@farmaindustria.es