Unfortunately, research and development (R&D) expenditure in the pharmaceutical industry has decreased considerably over the last few years. If in 2013 R&D expenditure totaled 250 million euros, by 2019 it amounted to only 75 million euros — thus, decreasing by 70 percent. Nonetheless, it is expected that Romania’s pharmaceutical industry will attract substantial investments in the upcoming years due to national tax incentives, competitive labor costs, as we as the rise of online pharmacies.
The COVID-19 pandemic also led to a growth in pharmaceutical sales. The market value of painkillers increased by 22.5 percent in 2020, peaking at 717 million Romanian lei. Moreover, in the first eight months of 2020, the number of paracetamol units sold in Romania also registered a significant increase. However, Nurofen remained the most popular pain relief medication, with more than 9.7 million units sold in 2020.
Pharmacies
The number of pharmacies in Romania has slightly variated in recent years, peaking at 8,147 units in 2018, then slightly dropping to 8,045 units by 2020. Nevertheless, the pharmaceutical market in Romania has recently strengthened. The biggest pharmacy chains have expanded considerably, while smaller pharmacies were at a disadvantage. By the end of 2020, Catena had the highest number of pharmacies in the country, followed by Sensiblu with over 700 drugstores. Consequently, Catena remained the most important company in the pharmaceutical retail sector, totaling a revenue worth 4.7 billion Romanian lei. However, non-stop pharmacies pose an obstacle that still needs to be addressed. By law, every county in Romania is obliged to have at least one pharmacy opened day and night, which is chosen on a weekly basis among the existing drugstores in a county. In 2020, Bucharest had the highest number of non-stop pharmacies. By contrast, at least 10 counties in the country only complied with the minimum legal requirement of having just one non-stop pharmacy.COVID-19 impact
Pharmaceutical companies have not experienced severe drops in revenues in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Moreover, several laboratories in Romania were accredited by the Ministry of Health in order to conduct and provide polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing services to the population. This led to significant increases in revenues of PCR testing laboratories.The COVID-19 pandemic also led to a growth in pharmaceutical sales. The market value of painkillers increased by 22.5 percent in 2020, peaking at 717 million Romanian lei. Moreover, in the first eight months of 2020, the number of paracetamol units sold in Romania also registered a significant increase. However, Nurofen remained the most popular pain relief medication, with more than 9.7 million units sold in 2020.
