Finland's pharmaceutical market rose 4.5% year on year (y/y) to EUR2.958 billion (USD3.138 billion) in 2015. The country's reimbursement payments under the health insurance scheme accounted for 46% of total pharmaceutical sales.
Implications | Finland's pharmaceutical market increased by 4.5% year on year (y/y) to EUR2.958 billion (USD3.138 billion) in 2015. Reimbursement payments increased 5.5% y/y to EUR1.378 billion, which was equivalent to 46% of total pharmaceutical sales. Changes to Finland's reimbursement system introduced in January 2016 (including the introduction of an initial reimbursement deductible and drug reimbursement savings targets of EUR150 million) are not reflected in the figures. As a result, reimbursement expenditure in 2016 is likely to be more muted. |
Outlook | The majority of pharmaceutical sales were at the pharmacy level; 70% of sales (equivalent to EUR2.063 billion) were prescription-only medicines used in outpatient settings, while 11% of sales (equivalent to EUR335 million) were attributed to over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. In terms of therapeutic areas, antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents drove significant sale increases. The highest percentages of sale increases were in anti-infectives for systemic use. |
The Finnish Medicines Agency (FIMEA) and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kansaneläkelaitos: KELA) published the latest statistics on Finnish pharmaceutical market for 2015. The total value of the pharmaceuticals marketed increased by 4.5% year on year (y/y) to reach EUR2.958 billion (USD3.138 billion). The report measured sales of medicines at retail prices (including value-added tax) for medicines used in the outpatient setting and wholesale prices for medicines sold to healthcare institutions (such as hospital pharmacies or dispensaries). The majority of medicines sales (70%) were made at the pharmacy level. Hospital medicines accounted for about one-quarter of total sales, having recorded sales of EUR561 million (an increase of 9.0% y/y).
The full report is available to view in English and Finnish here.
Medicine sales by sector | EUR, million | Y/Y, % change |
|---|---|---|
Prescription medicines in outpatient sector* | 2,063 | 4.3 |
OTC medicines in outpatient sector * | 335 | -1.3 |
Sales to hospitals ** | 561 | 9 |
Total sales of pharmaceuticals | 2,958 | 4.5 |
Total reimbursement payments | 1,378 | 5.5 |
*At pharmacy prices (including VAT) | ||
Source: FIMEA Finnish Statistics on Medicines (November 2016) | ||
Looking at the data on sales per therapeutic area, the majority of sales were made in the oncology medicine segments and treatments for autoimmune diseases. The top-selling medicine categories were antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents, which accounted for EUR500 million in sales at wholesale prices. Meanwhile, medicines affecting the nervous system totalled EUR360 million in sales, while the alimentary tract and metabolism therapeutic area reached EUR292 million in sales. Interestingly, the consumption of anti-infectives for systemic use rose 4% in terms of defined daily doses (DDD; 27.71 per 1,000 of the population), but reported a 25% y/y sales increase to EUR182 million.
Therapeutic category | Sales (EUR, mil. at wholesale prices) | Market share |
|---|---|---|
A – Alimentary tract and metabolism | 292.1 | 13.4 |
B – Blood and blood-forming organs | 177.3 | 8 |
C – Cardiovascular system | 202.7 | 9.3 |
D – Dermatological | 38.6 | 1.8 |
G – Genito urinary system and sex hormones | 111.4 | 5.1 |
H – Systemic hormonal | 42.2 | 1.9 |
J – Anti-infectives for systemic use | 182.1 | 8.3 |
L – Antineoplastic and | 500.1 | 22.9 |
immunomodulating agents | ||
M – Musculoskeletal system | 97.3 | 4.5 |
N – Nervous system | 312.9 | 14.4 |
P – anti-parasitic products | 5.2 | 0.2 |
R – Respiratory system | 143.6 | 6.6 |
S – Sensory organs | 46.6 | 2.1 |
V – Various | 28.2 | 1.3 |
Total | 2,180.9 | 100 |
Source: FIMEA Finnish Statistics on Medicines (November 2016) | ||
The best-selling originator medicines in Finland in 2015 were anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitors. AbbVie (US)'s Humira (adalimumab) is approved for multiple indications, including active rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and axial spondyloarthritis.It was ranked in first position registering total sales (measured at wholesale prices) of EUR46.5 million. Furthermore, Johnson & Johnson (J&J, US) and Merck & Co. (US)'s Remicade (infliximab) generated EUR37.7 million in sales, followed by Enbrel (etanercept; Pfizer, US), which registered EUR31.6 million in sales.
Rank | Brand name | Manufacturer | Sales (EUR, thousand at wholesale prices) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Humira (adalimumab) | AbbVie (US) | 46,500 |
2 | Remicade (infliximab) | J&J (US)/Merck (US) | 37,733 |
3 | Enbrel (etanercept) | Pfizer (US) | 31,685 |
4 | MabThera (rituximab) | Roche (Switzerland) | 31,350 |
5 | Lantus (insulin glargine) | Sanofi (France) | 30,403 |
6 | HyQvia (Human normal immunoglobulin) | Baxter (US) | 29,279 |
7 | Ibuprofen | Orion (Finland) | 28,744 |
8 | Januvia (sitagliptin) | Merck (US) | 26,054 |
9 | Coagulation factor VIII | Novo Nordisk (Denmark)/Baxalta (US) | 25,684 |
10 | Herceptin (trastuzumab) | Roche (Switzerland) | 22,496 |
Source: FIMEA Finnish Statistics on Medicines (November 2016) | |||
The best-selling antineoplastic agent was rituximab for the treatment of lymphoma, which recorded sales of EUR31.3 million. Elsewhere, FIMEA noted that the consumption of anti-diabetes medications continues to increase. The 2015 data show that the consumption patterns increased by 2% y/y (to 90.1 DDD/1,000 of the population), while sales increased 6% y/y to EUR148 million. Sales of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist Victoza (liraglutide; Novo Nordisk, Denmark) rose 49% y/y to EUR9.0 million, although sales of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor is still modest in the context of Finland's pharmaceutical market having slightly exceeded EUR2.0 million. The cardiovascular therapeutic area also recorded increases in consumption to 556.3 DDD/1,000 of the population (an increase of 1% y/y) as well as 6% y/y sales increases to EUR203 million.
Outlook and implications
Finland recorded a relatively steady increase in the pharmaceutical market in 2015. However, the brunt of the government's savings targets for reimbursement expenditure arrived and new reimbursement deductible thresholds came into effect in 2016/2017 (see Finland: 14 September 2016: Pharma Industry Finland responds to planned EUR150-mil. savings in reimbursement expenditure). The 2015 figures are encouraging for pharmaceutical companies operating in the country. However, the prospect of reimbursement expenditure reductions amounting to EUR150 million in 2016/2017, which is equivalent to about 10% of the country's total reimbursement expenditure, is likely to have a dampening effect on Finland's pharmaceutical market. In particular, rises in patients' out-of-pocket spending is expected to exert downward pressure on medicine sales in 2017.
According to the 2015 sales statistics published by FIMEA/KELA, cumulative sales accorded by the three top-selling pharmaceutical products Humira (adalimumab), Remicade (infliximab), and Enbrel (etanercept) attained EUR115.8 in sales measured at wholesale pharmaceutical prices. These medicines will be subject to biosimilar competition in future, meaning that that these drugs may struggle to maintain their high-ranking positions going forward.
Another encouraging feature is the significant 9% y/y increase in pharmaceutical costs at the hospital level to EUR561 million. This is partly attributed to rises in spending on high-cost medications, as well as the trend of an increasing ageing demographic in Finland, which is likely to result in an increased use of nervous system medicines (including dementia therapies).