site.btaCompetition Watchdog Analyzes Retail Medicines Market

Competition Watchdog Analyzes Retail Medicines Market

Sofia, December 29 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Commission on Protection of Competition has adopted a sector analysis of the competitive environment of the retail market in medicines intended for home treatment and covered in whole or in part by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the Commission said on Thursday.

The analysis found a shortage of NHIF-reimbursed medicines and a lack of a suitable mechanism regulating the parallel export of medicinal products from Bulgaria to the rest of the EU, as a result of which this export has increased substantially and spells a serious risk of the Bulgarian market being undersupplied with medicines, including life-saving ones.

Another problem detected is the uneven supply of medicines in the different parts of the country, the press release says.