Drug sales to hit zl.12.2bn this year, with volume stabile

Pharmaceutical sales in Poland this year are running 10% higher than last year. In 2000, 1.5 billion drug units were sold, worth zl.10.9 billion. In 2001 sales will amount to approximately zl.12.2 billion. However, the sales increase will not be accompanied by an increase in the volume of drugs sold, which for many years has fluctuated between 1.4 billion and 1.6 billion packages. "The increase of the value of drugs sold with an unchanged number of packages might mean that pharmaceuticals in Poland are more and more expensive. In reality, however, drug sales are increasing because Poles use more modern drugs, rejecting obsolete and cheaper ones," says one industry analyst. "Modern drugs have to be more expensive than the ones produced for many years and whose therapeutic value is doubtful." (Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) A.Z