Industry revenue of »dispensing chemist in specialised stores« in Poland 2011-2023

Revenues from pharmacy retail in Poland are projected to grow from 6.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2011 to over 8.1 billion U.S. dollars by 2023, fuelled by the availability of inexpensive medicines, a favorable climate for new medicine development and increased research and development activities. Additionally, the rising elderly population and the associate disease burden is also expected to drive the growth. The share of population aged 65 years and above has increased from 13 percent in 2008 17.5 percent in 2018. Moreover, OTC drugs are gaining increased popularity, owing to the fact that they do not require a medical prescription and are relatively inexpensive, due to their low VAT rates. In fact, according to a 2020 survey conducted by Biostat, OTC drugs were the most popular, purchased by over 94 percent of the Polish households, followed by dietary supplements & vitamins and prescription drugs.

Drug shortages due to Covid-19 outbreak

According to apmhealtheurope.com, Poland is facing shortages of just under 400 drugs, 48 of which have no substitutes, as Chinese imports into Poland have been badly affected due to the outbreak of the corona virus. The 48 drugs are used for treatments including joint and eye diseases, and Parkinson’s disease therapies. Former polish deputy health minister, Krzysztof Landa, has stated the situation might only worsen in the next few weeks, not only in Poland, but within the whole of the EU, due to the over resilience on Chinese medicines.