Belgium Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q2 2009

BMI calculates Belgium's pharmaceutical expenditure to have been EUR4.08bn (US$5.61bn) in 2008.

By 2013, we expect the total amount spent on prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to have reached a value of EUR4.42bn equating to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.8%. In US dollar terms, however, as a result of the weakening Euro, drug market expenditure will fall from US$5.61bn in 2009 to US$5.59bn in 2013.

In BMI's all new Business Environment Rankings for Q209, Belgium has moved up to 3rd place in the Western Europe region. The Belgian pharmaceuticals market is among the top 5 in Western Europe and globally, Belgium is ranked in 5th position just behind Switzerland and Japan, after moving up 7 places in Q209.

Belgium has a relatively high per capita drug expenditure rate, at an estimated US$526 in 2008. However, a relatively stable population and rising social security expenditure have led the government to undertake severe measures to reduce expenditure on healthcare in general, and on pharmaceuticals in particular.

However, studies show that patients in Belgium pay significantly more for their medicines than those in other select European countries. A study carried out by the Belgian organisation Platform for Action for Health and Solidarity indicated that on average patients in Belgium pay 50% more for their medicines than patients in the Netherlands. For example, the most commonly prescribed drug for reducing cholesterol, Zocor (simvastatin), is five to seven times more expensive in Belgium than in the Netherlands. The most commonly prescribed drug to counteract stomach acid, Losec (omeprazole), is nine to 17 times more expensive in Belgium than in the Netherlands.

New regulations that came into effect in February 2009 allow patients in Belgium to buy non-prescription medicines online. Georges Gilinket, an MP for the Belgian political party Ecolo said that his party was very critical of the legislation as 'taking medicines should not be trivialised and nothing should replace direct contact between a patient and their pharmacist'. There was also a concern that the development will encourage self-medication. Additionally, Belgium's drugs agency - L'Agence Fdrale des Mdicaments et des Produits de Sant (AFMPS) -expressed its concerns regarding health risks that may evolve as a result of patients purchasing medicines online via illegal networks.