PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 341 - 1 Dec 2001

Global trends in drug spendingIn the first half of this year, state pharmaceutical

spending in Italy increased by nearly 37% over the sameperiod last year, reaching L11.64 billion* ($US5.4billion), according to Scrip.1

Abolishing the country’s patient copayment systemearlier this year was, for the most part, responsible forthe rise in spending, based on estimates from Ministryof Health data. A 19% rise in the number of prescriptionswritten over the same period was also credited withcontributing to the spending increase. The biggestcontributor by therapeutic category was cardiovasculardrugs (up 32%), while spending on antimicrobialsdropped by 2%.

In Iran, pharmaceutical sales reached $US422.2million for the year ending March 2001 – a 32% increaseon the previous year.2 Sales by therapeutic categorywere highest for anti-infectives, followed by centralnervous system and gastrointestinal products. And inthe Czech Republic, approximately $US1.03 billion wasspent by consumers on pharmaceuticals in 2000,representing about 20% of spending on healthcare bythis group, reports Marketletter.3

* Italian lire

1. Italian spending up 36.5%. Scrip : 5, No. 2696, 16 Nov 2001.2. Iranian 2001 pharma sales. Scrip : 16, No. 2695, 14 Nov 2001.3. Czech Republic drug spending in 2000. Marketletter 28: 11, 19 Nov 2001.

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 1 Dec 2001 No. 3411173-5503/10/0341-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved