The Greek healthcare environment - overview
The pharmaceutical industry in Greece is operating in a complex, fast changing, unpredictable environment and is exposed to regulatory and market pressures. It is of utmost importance to understand the environment and build credibility in order to achieve early Market Access.
REGULATORY BODIES
EOF - National Organization of Pharmaceuticals is the competent Authorities for the:
- registration procedures of Drugs
- approval of clinical trials
- pharmacovigillance
- control of pharmaceutical production and circulation in the Greek market
MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT
- The responsibility for pricing of pharmaceuticals lies with the Minister
of Development who issues official prices with the consent of the Minister
of Health.
- There is a 9 member pricing committee which operates under the General
Secretariat of Commerce.
- A prerequisite for price setting is the marketing authorization issued
by EOF
- Prices in Greece are solely controlled by governmental decisions according to pre-legislated formulas
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
- Pharmaceutical policies and regulations
- Reimbursement
THE SOCIAL INSURANCE SYSTEM
- All citizens are compulsory insured by one of about 40 sick funds,
mainly financed by employer and employee contributions.
- The major social insurance funds are:
- IKA (Social Security Institution) covers 50,3% of total population
- OGA (Organisation of Agricaltural Insurance) covers 19,5 % of total
population
- OAEE (Fund for Civil Servants) covers 12,9 % of total population
- OPAD (Fund for self employment) covers 11,7% of total population
- The rates of co-payment for a prescription drug is uniform for all funds and set at 0%, 10% or 25%, depending on the disease and population groups
GREEK HEALTH ENVIRONMENT - FACTS AND FIGURES (data from 2003)
- Pharmaceutical sales in 2003 was 4,3 billion €
- Pharmaceutical products directed to public hospitals (at hospital prices)
accounted for 17% of total pharmaceutical value
- 70% of total value sales concerned sales of imported products, 19,5
% sales of domestically produced and 10% of domestically packaged
- CV products were the leading therapeutic category (23% of total pharm.
value sales) and CNS was the second with 15% total pharm. value sales
- Health expenditure in Greece at the average level of EU 15 (9,5% of
the GDP)
- The private expenditure for health is 47% and is the highest amongst
the EU 15 countries
- The pharmaceutical expenditure in Greece as a percentage of the total
Health expenditure is lower than the average of the EU 15 (16,3%)
- The pharmaceutical expenditure is increasing with a yearly rate of 9,1%
Facts and Figures- Total sales in values
| Years | Values in € (IMS) | Change % |
| 1996 | 948.834.878 | |
| 1997 | 998.160.135 | 5,2% |
| 1998 | 912.981.110 | -8,5% |
| 1999 | 1.100.391.302 | 20,50% |
| 2000 | 1.302.527.040 | 18,40% |
| 2001 | 1.559.905.128 | 19,80% |
| 2002 | 1.965.920.473 | 26,00% |
| 2003 | 2.373.192.137 | 20,70% |
| 2004 | 2.869.339.508 | 20,90% |