Savings from parallel import of pharmaceuticals in Finland 2016-2020
The Finnish government is determined to create efficiencies in the market of pharmaceuticals. With this ambition in mind, parallel imports (PI) of pharmaceuticals can be part of the answer. PI is the practice of importing pharmaceuticals from another EU country where they are cheaper than in Finland, a practice has been taking place since the 1970s. In this study, we calculate the savings from parallel imports (PI) of pharmaceuticals in Finland in the period 2016-2020.
The main conclusions of our study are:
- In 2016-2020, the total savings from parallel imports of pharmaceuticals amounted to €41m.
- The savings benefit both consumers and taxpayers as consumers saved €17m due to lower co-payments in the pharmacy sector and taxpayers saved €23m in both the pharmacy and hospital sectors due to lower prices.
- There is an additional and untapped potential of €72m in forgone savings in 2016-2020. This potential could have been realised if pharmacies had always dispensed the cheapest parallel import alternative, assuming parallel importers had been able to supple the whole market.
The study is commissioned by The Suppliers of Parallel Imported Medicines in Finland.
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