The March edition of IMS Retail Drug Monitor shows a 5% growth in drug sales through retail pharmacies in 13 key markets in the 12-month period from April 2006 through to March 2007, closing at US$ 395.39 billion.
IMS Retail Drug Monitor covers direct and indirect pharmacy channel purchases from wholesalers and manufacturers in 13 key countries. Sales figures are at ex-manufacturer prices and include all prescription and certain over-the-counter data. Figures include sales from the hospital sector in Japan and mail order in the USA.
Highlights This Month
This summary provides a regular view of the market, without commentary.
Country/regional summary
| Mar-07 | Value US$ Million | Growth % |
| TOTAL REGION | 395395 | 5 |
| NORTH AMERICA | 215276 | 8 |
| U.S.A. | 201362 | 8 |
| CANADA | 13914 | 7 |
| EUROPE TOP 5 | 98394 | 2 |
| GERMANY | 28371 | 1 |
| FRANCE | 26484 | 3 |
| UK | 16200 | 4 |
| ITALY | 15154 | 0 |
| SPAIN | 12185 | 7 |
| JAPAN | 56499 | -1 |
| LATIN AMERICA TOP 3 | 19269 | 11 |
| BRAZIL | 8669 | 11 |
| MEXICO | 8225 | 9 |
| ARGENTINA | 2375 | 18 |
| AUSTRALIA/NZ | 5958 | 4 |
Company summary
The top 5 corporations in the 12 months to March 2007 were:
1.PFIZER
2.GLAXOSMITHKLINE
3.NOVARTIS
4.ASTRAZENECA
5.MERCK & CO
Product summary
The top 5 drugs in the 12 months to March 2007 were:
1.LIPITOR
2.NEXIUM
3.SERETIDE
4.PLAVIX
5.NORVASC
Sales figures here cover direct and indirect pharmaceutical channel purchases (pharmacies plus hospital in Japan and mail order in the USA) from pharmaceutical wholesalers and manufacturers in 13 key global markets. Figures include prescription and certain over-the-counter data, and represent manufacturer prices. These countries account for over two thirds of the world market.
These figures are taken from the monthly pharmaceutical audit conducted by IMS Health, the leading provider of healthcare information worldwide and cover the 12 month period indicated.
All sales values are shown in millions of dollars at prevailing exchange rates. In order to remove the effects of fluctuating exchange rates, growth rates are calculated net of exchange, in other words, growth figures are shown at local currency level or constant exchange except for the majority of the Latin America countries exclusive of Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru. In Argentina and Brazil sales are recorded in US dollars in Mexico - local currency. The unique system in Japan reduces the importance of the pharmacy in the distribution chain - sales reported include hospital data. In other countries sales monitored are limited to retail pharmacy only and do not include hospital data. In the USA our survey includes sales through mail order channels. Further details from the Media section of www.imshealth.com.
Please source as: IMS Retail Drug Monitor from IMS Health.