Spanish pharma sales on the rise

Pharmaceutical sales in Spain rose 8.6% in 2007 to Euro 13.2bn, with treatments for the nervous system, cardiovascular, digestive system and respiratory system the top sellers, according to Farmaindustria.

In its 2007 annual report the pharma industry group said that the four treatment categories accounted for 65.2% of drug sales by value and 67.4% by units. Around 76% of pharmaceutical sales were made through pharmacies and the rest through hospitals.

Last year 283 new medicines were launched on the Spanish market with sales of €135.4m. Of the total, 196 were generics, representing 60% of units sold. The new launches were concentrated mostly in cardiovascular treatments (60 drugs, of which 48 were genetics) and central nervous system treatments (55 drugs, of which 37 were generics).

Generic sales last year were 169.5 million units with a total value of €662m, the report said, noting that the market share for generic drugs was 6.9% by value and 14.7% by units, compared with 6.1% and 11.8% respectively in 2006.

Spain's pharma sector imported raw materials and medicines worth a total of €8.2bn, an 8% increase over the previous year. Exports of the same products were up 3.5% to €6.2bn.

Around 75% of imports were from Spain's EU partners, which also accounted for 61% of Spanish pharmaceutical exports. After the European Union, Switzerland was number two, accounting for 9.4% of Spanish imports and 12.4% of its exports.

The US was Spain's biggest pharma trade partner outside Europe, with 10.4% of total pharma imports and 10.7% of Spanish exports.