Pharmacy market at last sees growth, with more to follow this year

Pharma Expert, a sector research company, expects pharmacies to increase their sales from zł.17.5 billion last year to zł.18.4 billion, in gross retail prices. "Following stagnation in 2004 and at the beginning of this year, the sales of OTC medicines finally budged in February. This is a result of an increased number of infections and colds," says Cezary Brzozowski from Pharma Expert. He expects OTC sales to rise by over 7%. Retail sales of domestic medicines are expected to increase by 6%, while those of foreign pharmaceuticals by 4.8%. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) T.J.