The liberalization of class C drugs, those paid for by the patient, would allow the hiring of 9,000 new workers in the parapharmacy sector. The estimate comes from the National Parapharmacy Forum, which also speaks of 3,500-4,500 new parapharmacies in addition to the current ones, and investments of 700 million euros. According to the Forum, the opening up of the market for class C drugs would not particularly damage pharmacies: "It has been calculated that the average monthly profit lost by them would be 380 euros". Meanwhile, the positive trend of the parapharmacy market in Italy continues. Four years after the beginning of the experience, their diffusion on the national territory has in fact stabilized and the turnover defined in terms of type and consistency: 8.7 billion euros, 966 million packages of drugs not subject to the obligation of medical prescriptions sold and 3,500 points opened (compared to the over 26 billion euro invoiced in 2010 by approximately 17,500 Italian pharmacies). The OTC market in particular is performing well and an excellent trend also for the cosmetics sector (+14% in 2010). «It is a result that satisfies us - declares the president of the National Parapharmacy Forum Giuseppe Scioscia - but what we hope for today is the liberalization of class C drugs. Currently, in fact, we can only sell over-the-counter and non-prescription drugs. But this does not mean that we want to abolish the organic plant: none of us has ever dreamed of proposing wild and deregulated liberalization in the distribution of medicines".
Pharmacist33 – 24 May 2011
