An efficient pharmaceutical sales system would save the economy up to EUR 250 million

The public debate has mainly focused on tax increases and cuts to balance public finances. The Finnish Commerce Federation also encourages the government to consider structural reforms in the budget framework session, which will enhance the functioning of the markets and support both public finances and the purchasing power of the Finnish people.

“We should now ambitiously dismantle the regulations that prevent effective action and make structural reforms that will carry us far into the future,” says Mari Kiviniemi, Managing Director of the Finnish Commerce Federation.

The Finnish Commerce Federation sees the structural reform of the retail distribution system for pharmaceuticals as one such measure. The ambitious goal should be the Swedish model, i.e. the most efficient system in Europe, which will create savings for both the state economy and individual Finns.

According to calculations commissioned by the Finnish Commerce Federation, an efficient retail sales system for pharmaceuticals based on the Swedish model would be approximately EUR 250 million more cost-effective than the present system. The distribution of savings between the state and consumers can be influenced by the VAT rates of prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals.

The results are in line with the results of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s comparison of the pharmaceutical price models for 2020. In it, the Finnish system was found to be expensive compared to other Nordic countries. Hundreds of millions of potential savings were identified.[i]

The prerequisites for an effective pharmaceutical sales system in accordance with the Swedish model are the reduction of the regulated sales margin of pharmacies, i.e. the price regulation of pharmaceuticals, to the level of Sweden, the significantly more efficient procurement of medicines, diverse competition and the liberalisation of pharmacy ownership.

“The full benefits of the reform work will be realized with a transition period of several years, but it is important that the reform is not delayed any longer. In any case, we are facing increasing pharmaceutical reimbursement costs with an ageing population,” Kiviniemi points out.

It is essential to change the ownership of pharmacies in the reform work. Current partnership pharmacies are not able to independently make an effective purchase of pharmaceuticals from the international market or operate with lower sales margins than at present – especially in smaller locations. The core competence of pharmacists is pharmaceutical knowledge and advising customers, not developing business models or sourcing from the international pharmaceutical market.

“Instead of regulating ownership, we should focus on regulating operations like in other healthcare. The pharmacy ownership restriction is no longer justified. High-quality pharmaceutical advice does not require pharmacy ownership, as shown by university-owned pharmacies,” Kiviniemi continues.

Attachment: Economic benefits of the change in the pharmacy market, Day 1 (PDF)

For further information, please contact:

Mari Kiviniemi, Managing Director, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 (0)50 511 3189, mari.kiviniemi(at)kauppa.fi

For further information on calculations, please contact:

Sami Finne, Day 1, tel. +358 (0)400 617 572, sf(at)day1.fi
(available from 10:30 a.m. on 19 February)