medotceurope.com
Major Acquisition in Fragmented
Going Dutch - Mediq Finds Alternative
German Mail Order Pharmacy
to Preference Policy
Mediq Pharmacies, the Dutch retail chain, and
The mail-order pharmacy Europa Apotheek Venlo
healthcare insurer CZ have signed a two-year
Germany has acquired shop-apotheke.com, an online
contract that offers an alternative to the preference
OTC medicines and healthcare products retailer, for an
The key elements of the contract are that prices of pharmaceuticals
Medco Health Solutions – the US pharmacy benefit manager, which
will be lower, the fee for service received by Mediq will be higher and
acquired Europa Apotheek in April 2008, said the acquisition
Mediq will control its own pharmaceuticals product portfolio.
expanded both its product offering and the channels through which it reached consumers in Germany.
Mediq represents the largest retail pharmacy chain in the Netherlands and has 14% share of the sector.
The German pharmacy mail order business was born out of changes to the laws on distance selling of pharmaceutical products in 2004.
Whereas insurers take on pharmaceuticals purchasing under the
The rapid growth of on-line business start ups have left the German
preference policy, Mediq will remain responsible for supplier selection
pharmacy mail order sector highly fragmented with the top seven
in this contract. This deal puts Mediq pharmacists back in the driving
operators taking around 41% share. Europa Apotheek jointly takes
seat in deciding the pharmaceuticals to be dispensed on the basis of
fifth place in the German market with just 2% market share according
GPs' prescriptions and stops insurers centrally determining which
to Service Barometer. It can be expected that there will be further
medicines qualify exclusively for reimbursement. In addition, Mediq
consolidation in the sector. The market leader is DocMorris which is
Pharmacies and CZ will jointly develop additional healthcare services
owned by Celesio.
for their customers. The contract is set to become effective on 1 January 2010.
Europa Apotheek based in Venlo is a Dutch pharmacy certified by TÜV Nord with over 180 employees. The business was founded in 2001
Mediq will receive a lower but fixed reimbursement from the insurer
and operates in the German and Dutch markets. Europa Apotheek
for pharmaceuticals dispensed. The costs of pharmaceuticals will
Venlo is among the largest mail-order pharmacies in Europe and as a
consequently be lower. At the same time, CZ will pay Mediq the
full-service pharmacy supplies drugs to patients with chronic diseases
maximum dispensing fee per prescription item set by the Dutch
such as diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases, arthritis, asthma, COPD
Healthcare Authority ((Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit - NZa). This fee is
multiple sclerosis and HIV. Europa Apotheek Venlo also maintains an
currently at € 7.94, i.e. € 0.66 higher than the basic fee of € 7.28. In
order-and-pickup service for prescription drugs at PharmaPoints in
addition, CZ will no longer withhold a certain percentage (known as
some 1,000 dm-drogeriemarkt drugstores.
the clawback) on the reimbursement for the agreed range.
shop-apotheke.com was established some six years ago as a mail-
Mediq will retain the purchasing function. Under the preference
order pharmacy in Germany and has over 300,000 registered buyers
policy, pharmacies are required to stock the various different
and approximately 2.4 million visits/visitors per month to its website.
preferred pharmaceuticals of the various healthcare insurers, who in
The company has TUV quality certification.
addition regularly switch their preference. Mediq avoids the associated logistical and administrative costs by purchasing itself. This also enables Mediq to negotiate better terms with suppliers.
% Share Mail Order Pharmacies in Germany 2009
Mediq recently signed similar contracts with Zilveren Kruis Achmea and Agis and with these contracts is positioning itself for the free market to be introduced in the pharmacy sector.
Marc van Gelder, CEO Mediq: "We have never supported the preference policy, as it leads to an erosion of healthcare. This agreement with CZ provides an alternative that ties in with Mediq's strategy. The additional healthcare services lead to improved health for end users".
Source: Service Barometer
medotceurope.com
James Dudley Management
medotceurope.com
As well as selling off the 465 pharmacies in eight large clusters, the
Sweden's Pharmacy Monopoly is
Swedish government has made 150 pharmacies available to small businesses. The other 330 pharmacies will remain under the control
of Apoteket. All of Sweden's 945 pharmacies had been under state control as part of the Apoteket chain.
Rx to OTC News
Parliament Approves
Pantoprazole Rx to OTC Switch
From 1 January 2010 medicinal products containing 20mg
pantoprazole for short-term treatment of heartburn and acid
reflux will have OTC status in Germany.
Germany's upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, passed legislation on 18 December that allowed the marketing status
Picture Bertil Hagberg
of 20mg pantoprazole to be changed from prescription-only to non-prescription. The maximum pack size will be 14 tablets or
Oriola-KD and two private equity groups have come out
capsules. However, OTC 20mg pantoprazole will be indicated
tops over some of the most hotly tipped industry
for adults only.
bidders in the SKr5.9bn (€560m) auction of part of
The proposed switch from prescription only to OTC (Rx to OTC)
Sweden's state-owned Apoteket pharmacy chain.
was introduced soon after Nycomed commercialised 20mg pantoprazole tablets in Germany as the non-prescription
The winners, Altor and Segulah private-equity investors and Oriola-KD
medicine Pantozol Control - the first OTC proton pump blocker
have acquired the bulk of the state-owned Apoteket pharmacies.
on the German market approved for short-term treatment
Altor and Segulah, both Nordic-focused buy-out funds, were
with frequently recurring heartburn
successful bidders and point to a revival in the region's private equity market after a long period of inactivity since the financial crisis. Altor
Germany was among the initial countries where Nycomed
won the biggest nationwide cluster of 208 Apoteket stores.
introduced Pantozol Control after the 20mg pantoprazole tablets gained non-prescription status for frequent heartburn
Kronans Droghandel Retail AB, a company jointly owned by Oriola-KD
throughout the European Union in June. Pantozol Control is
Corporation and Kooperativa Förbundet (KF), has won the tender for
only the second EU wide Rx to OTC switch achieved through a
a national pharmacy cluster with 171 pharmacies. Proforma net sales
Centralized Procedure
of the 171 pharmacies in 2008 were SEK 4.4 billion (€421 million), 14.5 per cent of Swedish pharmacy market. Proforma operating profit
The Rx to OTC switch of all 20mg pantoprazole formulations
including average central overhead costs of Apoteket AB in 2008 was
with a maximum pack size of 280mg is seen very much as a
SEK 183 million(€17.6 million), 4.2 per cent of net sales. The net debt
tidying up exercise after Nycomed's switch became effective
of the acquired pharmacy cluster at the end of August 2009 was SEK
throughout the European Union.
136 million (€13 million). The pharmacy cluster employed 931 employees at the end of 2008.
The general switch will inevitably lead to the introduction of a number of branded and generic non-prescription competitors
The total purchase price of the acquisition is expected to be
to Nycomed's Pantozol Control as the pantoprazole patent ran
approximately SEK 1.56 billion (€150 million) in cash. The closing of
out in Germany in early 2009.
the transaction is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2010, and is subject to approval by the Swedish Competition Authority (Konkurrensverket) and the granting of pharmacy license by the Swedish Medical Products Agency (Läkemedelsverket).
Medstop owned by the private equity company Segulah won the bid for three pharmacy clusters with a total of 62 stores with combined
Free Download
sales of SEK 3.1 billion (€296 million)
James W Dudley's
Rx to OTC Presentation
Alliance Boots, Europe's largest pharmacy group, was among those
Innovating Self-medication - European Switch
whose bids failed.
Celesio had previously announced that it would not participate in a
bidding war and would set up a new 100 branch pharmacy chain under the DocMorris banner progressively over the next few years.
medotceurope.com
James Dudley Management
medotceurope.com
Important new Report
German Pharmacies Grow in Number
"OTC Distribution in Europe"
The New 2010 Edition
Since January 2004 German pharmacists have been able to
own up to four pharmacies in their neighborhood.
Driving the Recovery
"This study has identified themes of change that
While skeptics accused the German Government of watering down
are reshaping the structure of the healthcare supply
plans for unlimited controls on pharmacy chains at the time, the
chain, focusing buyer power and presenting
policy of allowing a pharmacist to own up to three branch pharmacies
suppliers with new strategic challenges.
along with the main retail store seems to have contributed to halting the worrying decline in numbers.
The aim of this seventh study into OTC Distribution
The number of pharmacy branches under management in Germany
in Europe is to explore these themes and to provide
increased from 6% in 2006 to 13% in 2008, while the actual number of
a reasoned framework for anticipating unfolding
proprietors declined by 2,554 according to ABDA. Since the
threats and opportunities". James W. Dudley
introduction of the new rules the decline in the number of pharmacies in Germany has been reversed. Having dipped to 21,300 in 2003, German pharmacy numbers have climbed back to over
This is the seventh edition of James Dudley's highly regarded 18 country
23,600 today – a figure close to the previous peak in 2000.
consultancy report - OTC Distribution in Europe. This much expanded 2010
edition is the largest and most up to date strategic analysis of the supply
Following the introduction of limited branch ownership and the
network serving the non-prescription and OTC Self-medication sectors in
overall reduction in owner managers the average pharmacy turnover
Europe With over 460 pages and 200 graphs, tables & figures
has increased by 15% and the number of pharmacies with turnoverin
For details and table of contents visit
excess of €1.75 million has grown from 23% to 29%. The increase in
small pharmacy groupings has also coincided with the rapid growth of virtual chains created by voluntary groupings of pharmacies and wholesaler driven concept franchises.
According to OTC Distribution in Europe the 2010 edition some 65% of Germany pharmacies are affiliates of virtual chains representing 40% of all pharmacies in virtual chains in the 18 European countries covered by the study.
Average pharmacy annual turnover is €1.75 million (up from €1.52 million in 2005) but 57.5% of pharmacies fall below this figure. While just under a quarter of pharmacies are struggling to survive, pharmacies in the top 20% have sales of over €2.0 million a year.
Number of Pharmacies in Germany 1995 to 2008
Contact Telephone :++44(0) 1562 747705
e-mail: [email protected]
Graph: James Dudley Management – OTC Distribution in
Web site: www.jamesdudley.info
Europe the 2010 Edition – Driving the Recovery(data ABDA/Anzag/James Dudley)
medotceurope.com
James Dudley Management
Source: http://www.james-dudley.co.uk/downloads/newsletters/newyear-2010.pdf
VOLUME II MAIN REPORT Assessment of the Value of the Protected Area System of Ethiopia, "Making the Economic Case" Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority Sustainable Development of the Protected Areas System of Ethiopia (SDPASE) Project Your contact at ÖBf: Alois Schuschnigg and Alexander Horst
Nascimento et al. BMC Bioinformatics (2016) 17:46 DOI 10.1186/s12859-016-0890-3 Open Access A multiple kernel learning algorithm fordrug-target interaction predictionAndré C. A. Nascimento1,2,3*, Ricardo B. C. Prudêncio1 and Ivan G. Costa1,3,4 Background: Drug-target networks are receiving a lot of attention in late years, given its relevance forpharmaceutical innovation and drug lead discovery. Different in silico approaches have been proposed for theidentification of new drug-target interactions, many of which are based on kernel methods. Despite technicaladvances in the latest years, these methods are not able to cope with large drug-target interaction spaces and tointegrate multiple sources of biological information.
