Pains and colds drive Romanians to pharmacies

More than half of the 20 best-selling OTC drugs in Romania are used in the treatment of pain or for colds and flu, reveals a ZF analysis based on data provided by IMS Health research firm.
Thus, starting with Nurofen, holding the leading position, and ending with Tantum Verde, ranking 20th, the segment of remedies for colds and flu and pain is clearly pharmacies' most important business.
And the cold weather and temperature fluctuations turn winter months into the best months for pharmacy owners.
"What drives you out of the house more quickly than pain? (...) After analgesics, we have, depending on season, drugs for colds, cough and sore throats during winter and anti-diarrheic and anti-allergic drugs during summer," said pharmacist Cristina Niculescu.
However, she says the number of illnesses during winter is higher and therefore sales go up during this period.
"The best-selling OTC drug categories in 2010 are for colds and flu, analgesics and vitamins," said in his turn Dorin Catană, general manager of Centrofarm.
The best-selling drug in Romania, though, is Pegasys, a product used in treating hepatitis, with sales standing at 166.3 million RON (40 million euros) in the first 11 months of 2010, according to IMS Health. The market leader in 2009 was Neorecormon. Both products are part of the portfolio of Roche, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Romania, and are prescription drugs.