The Ministry of Health has published on its website the list, updated to the second half of 2010, of the 50 non-prescription medicines (sop and otc) most sold in pharmacies open to the public and in commercial establishments. In first place we find Tachipirina in 500 mg tablets (3,390,349 packages sold), followed by Voltaren 60 g (2,296,699), effervescent aspirin 400 mg with vitamin C (2,142,753) and Moment 200 mg (1,969,105). At the bottom of the ranking, but still with exceptional sales, are Seki syrup, Tantum Active throat and Proctolyn cream which closes at 50th. The publication of the list follows the Memorandum of Understanding of 24 September 2008, in which it is established that each point of sale displays to the public the prices of 15 packs of medicines to be selected from the top 50 on the list of the most marketed products.
Pharmacist33 – 8 April 2011
Over-the-counter medicines in large retailers
Article 5 of the recent decree law n° 223 of 4 July 2006 better known as Bersani decree allows the sale of so-called OTC medicines (over the counter) or over-the-counter medicines, to other shops in addition to the pharmacy.
The market for OTC drugs, therefore, is no longer confined to the pharmacy channel, in which it has evolved in recent years, but also finds space in large-scale distribution, a channel that seems to show interesting prospects.
The OTC market in the pharmacy
ACNielsen sees the OTC market within the broader self-medication market, made up of strictly OTC medicines but also of SOP (non-prescription) medicines, health products and products notified to the Ministry of Health but not classified as drugs.
SOP medicines are distinguished from OTC medicines in that they cannot be communicated either traditionally or at the point of sale, they cannot be taken without prescription but in any case they do not require a prescription.
In September 2006, this pharmacy market was worth 2,865 million euros, slightly down (-1% in value) and substantially stable in terms of volume. Before the Storace decree, which allowed discounts to be applied to these products in pharmacies, price growth was almost the only variable capable of making the market grow. Today, also following the liberalization towards other commercial activities, we are also witnessing a price battle in pharmacies whose results can be read precisely in the value trend.
There Table shows the main self-medication markets, their weight on the total and the trend in value compared to the last year.
The first trend that catches the eye is that of the respiratory system, in which all cooling products are present, the negative trend of which was determined by a less intense pathology compared to the previous year. As far as positive trends are concerned, the vitamin and mineral market includes almost all supplements, and is the only one, in recent years, to move positively on an ongoing basis thanks to the continuous entry of new supplements with the most varied functions and an ever-increasing consumer trend towards wellness products. Otological and gynecological res
