Prescription drugs only 6% of mail-order sales

According to IMS Health, in the first 6 months of this year around 76% of sales through mail-order pharmacies were self-medication drugs and 24% were prescription medicines. Prescription drugs amounted to only 6% of the total packages sold.

„Over the counter“ sales consisted of 58% of „over the counter“ products, 5% medical needs, 10% cosmetic and toiletries, and 2% for dietary needs.

In total, half year sales amounted to EUR 680m (3% of ther total market), an increase of 5.5% on last year.

In the study, IMS Health identified a growth compared to the first half of 2011 in cosmetics and personal care products (14%). With sales of EUR 71m, this segment now has a share of more than 10% of total mail-order pharmacies sales. Sales in medicines and medical aids also rose significantly, accounting for roughly 15% of volume growth.

Commentary: There are several thousand pharmacies with permission to sell by mail order in Germany, which the IMS Database for Health represents. Those few large pharmacies with the main share of the mail-order business also have a higher share of the prescription drugs business too.

One success factor for mail order pharmacies was customer loyalty, especially in the prescription business with prescription drugs. In this field the large mail-order pharmacies are far more successful than the small mail-order pharmacies. The open question, therefore, is how the market will develop under the new legislation with the prohibition of prescription discounts.

[ilink url=“http://www.imshealth.com/ims/Global/EMEA/Austria and Germany/Corporate/Press Releases/Medieninformationen pdf/PM-IMS-14082012.pdf“]Link zur Quelle (IMS Health)[/ilink]