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Trade with Greece
67
uted more than 13,200 pharmaceutical products
and preparations in the domestic market. This
information is included in the “Medicine manufac-
turing and trading” study prepared by Dr. Ath.
Dagalides on behalf of Piraeus Bank. Almost 100
companies are involved in the manufacturing and
packaging field, and quite a few are subsidiaries
of multinational companies. Apart from pharma-
ceutical products, many companies are also
involved in cosmetics and parapharmaceuticals,
while the author of the study notes that, since
there is no local production of drastic substances,
the added value of Greece's phar-
maceutical industry is low.
The SFEE estimates that the sector
offers quality employment to 14,500
highly qualified specialists. 45.5% of
the people working with pharmaceu-
tical companies are University grad-
uates. Moreover, 10.2% have gradu-
ated from technical schools, 7.7%
are holders of higher education
degrees, and only 4.6% have only
received basic education. 32% have
graduated from secondary educa-
tion schools.
The SFEE estimates that the value of
the local manufacture of medicines
stood at 1 billion euros, at ex-factory
prices, in 2009, while, according to
data from the Piraeus Bank study, it
reached 900 million euros (data
based on ELSTAT surveys).
The Association believes that clear
incentives are required for enhanc-
ing local manufacture and includ-
ing the pharmaceutical industry in
the high-tech sector, eligible for
multiple state support. Today,
almost 250 clinical trials are per-
formed in Greece, with the active
involvement of almost 30 compa-
nies of the sector and a total budg-
et of 84 million euros. The SFEE
insists that this amount could be
quadrupled if clinical trials were
approved by the competent author-
ities in due time.
The distribution sector, as stressed
in the study by Dr. Ath. Dagalides,
is highly developed and one of the
most efficient and complete in
Europe, in terms of both logistics
and geographical coverage on the
retail level. Wholesalers (ware-
houses) and pharmacist coopera-
tives provide the link that connects pharmaceuti-
cal companies with pharmacies or hospitals.
85%-90% of their sales are channeled to phar-
macies, and the remainder to other wholesalers,
cooperatives or hospitals. According to estimates,
private wholesalers command 55% of the market,
with the other 45% being covered by coopera-
tives. Market concentration is high, since the top-
5 private warehouses account for 30% of sales,
while the top-5 cooperatives control 44% of the
relevant market.
The geographical distribution of distributors
Greek pharmaceutical compa-
nies continue to claim a place
among the most dynamic sec-
tors of the Greek economy,
despite the shocks caused by
the crisis, the ballooning debts
of public health agencies and
the contraction of the domes-
tic pharmaceuticals market in
the post-Memorandum era.
However, the tough meas-
ures taken by the government
in this field during the past
few months might prove to
be the straw that broke the
camel's back in regard to the
patience of the Greek phar-
maceutical industry, with
grave consequences for both
the enterprises of the sector,
and the quality of health serv-
ices.