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As the largest pharma market in Europe, Germany holds a lot of market potential for pharma and consumer health products. It is forecasted that in 2035, the total Rx and OTC sales in Germany will be equal to 169 billion USD Of this total, 88% of these total sales is expected to belong to prescription drugs.
Market opportunity for prescription medicines in Germany
Almost 90% of the German population are insured via one of more than 100 statutory health insurance (SHI) providers (or Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung – GKV in German). Among them, there are four key players: AOK, Barmer, DAK and TK.
An additional 10,5% is privately insured. Private and public insurances cover approximately two thirds of the total healthcare spending. The remaining amount is funded by public or private households but also by employers, long-term insurance, or accident insurance.
Germany is one of the few European countries where the retail market is dominated by tenders. And the tendering process is executed by both public and private insurance companies. 79% of all prescriptions through SHI providers are for generics. If manufacturers of generic products want to supply those companies, they would have to participate in each SHI tender. The SHI providers usually award two types of contracts:
- single award contracts, with one supplier only
- multiple award contracts with different manufacturers.
The SHIs are considered public clients, thus, they are obliged to follow the Public Procurement Law, with the specific criteria of being cost-effective.
Figure 1. Germany’s Tender Business
Platforms for suppliers to participate in the German pharma tender market:
- Deutschland-Lieferportal (DLP): official central platform for public tenders in Germany, including some healthcare tenders.
- TED (Tenders Electronic Daily): official platform for European Union tenders (incl. Pharma tenders), including some from Germany.
- Vergabeplattform des GKV-Spitzenverbandes: This platform publishes tenders from statutory health insurance (GKV) funds, which are major players in the German pharmaceutical market.
- Besides, there are a number of regional platforms that focus on specific types of hospitals and pharma procurements. Many individual hospitals also advertise their tenders via their own websites and industry associations.
Figure 2. Drug Discount Agreement Procedure
Equal chances to win tenders for local and importing companies.
Non-German companies with the EU GMP certificate and a German product registration have the opportunity to participate in the tender market in Germany. In fact, they have an equal chance to win a tender compared to local companies. This can be an excellent way to expand your business internationally.
The Chameleon Pharma Consulting Group has extensive experience in global pharma tenders, especially in Germany. We would be delighted to support you to win tender agreements in this promising market. Moreover, we can support you in product registration and receiving EU GMP. Please contact us with your questions!
