This report covers Poland’s pharmaceuticals market, with an overview of the sector and industry trends through 2013. It also includes market forecasts and corporate news for firms including, among others, Mabion, Medicofarma, Farmacol, and Pelion.

The Polish pharmaceutical market slid in the negative area in 2012, after two years of stable annual growth. Pharma sales in gross retail prices dropped by 8.4% y/y to PLN 27bn (EUR 6.5bn) in 2012, driven by a double-digit slump in the sales value of prescription-based medicines. In H1 2013, the market seems to have stabilized, yet has still not returned to previous levels. The Reimbursement Act enforced by the authorities at the beginning of 2012 and amended later in the year reshaped the Polish pharma market, impacting not only patients and doctors, but also producers, wholesalers, and pharmacies. The biggest players have managed to overcome the adverse market circumstances, partly due to the fact that they started restructuring in 2012, but smaller players with a large share of reimbursed drugs in their portfolios were particularly affected.

The pharma market is expected to return to an upward path this year, partly on low-base comparison, and maintain positive annual performance in the coming years. Pharmaceutical sales witnessed a rebound in the first months of 2013, mainly on low base, yet the current positive performance and future encouraging outlook are backed by the other segments of the market apart from the reimbursed prescription medicines, which continue to account for the largest market share.

Key Points:

• In corporate news, biotech company Mabion started the construction of scientific-industrial compound for cancer research, and pharmaceutical producer Medicofarma has taken over pain relief drug manufacturer Marcmed.

• Distributor Farmacol reports expected H2 revenues to be roughly similar to (or slightly higher than) the level recorded in H1 2013. Pharmaceutical distributor Pelion has announced its interest in taking over a European peer and could spend EUR 100-150mn for such an acquisition.

• The value of OTC sales remained roughly stagnant y/y in 2012, even though prior to the introduction of the Reimbursement Act the segment was forecasted to be among the main beneficiaries from the regulatory changes. On the upside, the segment has been gaining increasing share in pharmaceutical companies’ portfolios and the trend is expected to continue, setting enough growth prospects for OTC product sales.