OTC Healthcare in Latvia

Euromonitor International's OTC Healthcare in Latvia market report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, packaging innovations, economic/lifestyle influences, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change.

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• Get insight into trends in market performance
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Product coverage

Adult mouth care; Allergy care; Analgesics; Calming and sleeping products; Child-specific OTC healthcare; Cough; cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies; Digestive remedies; Ear care; Emergency contraception; Eye care; Medicated skin care; NRT Smoking cessation aids; OTC obesity; OTC statins; OTC triptans; Vitamins and dietary supplements; Wound treatments

Executive summary

Popularity of self-medication continues to grow

Latvian lifestyles are changing. People are becoming busier and thus there is a tendency to visit the doctor less frequently and instead buy OTC healthcare products, thus saving time. In addition, more and more Latvians are unwilling to pay to see a doctor who then prescribes medicines which are usually more expensive, although many of these are included in the government’s reimbursement programme. Therefore, the popularity of self-medication is growing. Moreover, its popularity is also being ensured by a rise in consumer health and product awareness, about OTC products in particular. This trend is expected to continue over the forecast period, thus leading to increased sales of OTC healthcare products.

Sales are increasing but growth rates are slowing down

Current value growth of the OTC healthcare market in 2008, although positive, was significantly lower than the review period CAGR. This suggests that the market is becoming more mature, although the downturn in the economy is playing a substantial role. Unit price in 2008 increased, mainly because of salary increases for employees in the pharmaceutical industry, while salaries are also dependent on price inflation in the country. Furthermore, since the inflation rate in 2008 was unexpectedly very high, most products experienced negative real growth.

Multinationals dominate in a highly competitive environment

Competition between manufacturers is becoming more intense. Multinationals command the strongest share, the largest being Laboratoires UPSA, Berlin-Chemie/Menarini Baltic SIA, Nycomed Pharma AS and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. More effort is being focused on the promotion of OTC products, which is allowed but restricted and highly controlled by the State Agency of Medicines.

Chemists/pharmacies the main distribution channel

The main businesses selling medicines in Latvia are Recipe Plus AS, Tamro SIA (Gimenes Aptieka) and Magnum Medical SIA (Euroaptieka). The number of pharmacies is declining because of the regulations which set the maximum number of pharmacies per number of inhabitants. Nevertheless, chemists/pharmacies are the main distributors of OTC healthcare products, suggesting that customers are still in need of a pharmacist’s advice which they often cannot obtain in other distribution channels, eg supermarkets. A relatively new trend in Latvia is that some OTC healthcare products can be bought on the internet, but this channel has still to develop.

OTC sales will continue to rise

Although sales growth is declining, it is forecast that sales of OTC healthcare products will continue to rise, strengthened by the fact that in Latvia per capita consumption of medicines is the lowest in the Baltic States and the figures in all three countries are expected to level off at the end of the forecast period. M&A activity is expected to increase in the pharmaceutical industry at the end of the forecast period as the government plans to implement a law which will not allow wholesalers to run retail businesses after 2013. Thus, some wholesalers such as Tamro SIA will be forced to sell their retail chains (Gimenes Aptieka).

Table of contents

OTC HEALTHCARE IN LATVIA : MARKET INSIGHT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Popularity of self-medication continues to grow

Sales are increasing but growth rates are slowing down

Multinationals dominate in a highly competitive environment

Chemists/pharmacies the main distribution channel

OTC sales will continue to rise

MARKET INDICATORS

Table 1 Consumer Expenditure on Health Goods and Medical Services 2003-2008

Table 2 Life Expectancy at Birth 2003-2008

MARKET DATA

Table 3 Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector: Value 2003-2008

Table 4 Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 5 OTC Healthcare Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 6 OTC Healthcare Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 7 Sales of OTC Healthcare by Distribution Format: % Analysis 2003-2008

Table 8 Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector and Distribution Format: % Analysis 2008

Table 9 Forecast Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector: Value 2008-2013

Table 10 Forecast Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector: % Value Growth 2008-2013

APPENDIX

OTC Registration and Classification

Generics

Switches

Summary 1 OTC Healthcare Switches 2005-2008

DEFINITIONS

Summary 2 Research Sources

ANALGESICS

Headlines

Trends

switches

Competitive Landscape

Prospects

Sector Data

Table 11 Sales of Analgesics by Subsector: Value 2003-2008

Table 12 Sales of Analgesics by Subsector: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 13 Herbal vs Standard Topical Analgesics 2003-2008

Table 14 Analgesics Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 15 Analgesics Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 16 Forecast Sales of Analgesics by Subsector: Value 2008-2013

Table 17 Forecast Sales of Analgesics by Subsector: % Value Growth 2008-2013

COUGH, COLD AND ALLERGY (HAY FEVER) REMEDIES

Headlines

Trends

Switches

Competitive Landscape

Prospects

Sector Data

Table 18 Sales of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Subsector: Value 2003-2008

Table 19 Sales of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Subsector: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 20 Sales of Decongestants by Type: Value 2003-2008

Table 21 Sales of Decongestants by Type: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 22 Sales of Child-specific Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Type: Value 2003-2008

Table 23 Sales of Child-specific Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Type: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 24 Herbal vs Standard Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies 2003-2008

Table 25 Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 26 Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 27 Forecast Sales of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Subsector: Value 2008-2013

Table 28 Forecast Sales of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Subsector: % Value Growth 2008-2013

DIGESTIVE REMEDIES

Headlines

Trends

Switches

Competitive Landscape

Prospects

Sector Data

Table 29 Sales of Digestive Remedies by Subsector: Value 2003-2008

Table 30 Sales of Digestive Remedies by Subsector: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 31 Herbal vs Standard Digestive Remedies 2003-2008

Table 32 Digestive Remedies Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 33 Digestive Remedies Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 34 Forecast Sales of Digestive Remedies by Subsector: Value 2008-2013

Table 35 Forecast Sales of Digestive Remedies by Subsector: % Value Growth 2008-2013

MEDICATED SKIN CARE

Headlines

Trends

Switches

Competitive Landscape

Prospects

Sector Data

Table 36 Sales of Medicated Skin Care by Subsector: Value 2003-2008

Table 37 Sales of Medicated Skin Care by Subsector: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 38 Herbal vs Standard Medicated Skin Care 2003-2008

Table 39 Medicated Skin Care Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 40 Medicated Skin Care Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 41 Forecast Sales of Medicated Skin Care by Subsector: Value 2008-2013

Table 42 Forecast Sales of Medicated Skin Care by Subsector: % Value Growth 2008-2013

VITAMINS AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS IN LATVIA

Headlines

Trends

Competitive Landscape

Prospects

Sector Data

Table 43 Sales of Vitamins and Dietary Supplements by Subsector: Value 2003-2008

Table 44 Sales of Vitamins and Dietary Supplements by Subsector: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 45 Vitamins and Dietary Supplements Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 46 Vitamins and Dietary Supplements Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 47 Vitamins Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 48 Dietary Supplements Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 49 Forecast Sales of Vitamins and Dietary Supplements by Subsector: Value 2008-2013

Table 50 Forecast Sales of Vitamins and Dietary Supplements by Subsector: % Value Growth 2008-2013

NRT SMOKING CESSATION AIDS

Headlines

Trends

Switches

Competitive Landscape

Prospects

Sector Indicators

Table 51 Number of Smokers by Gender 2003-2008

Sector Data

Table 52 Sales of Smoking Cessation Aids by Subsector: Value 2003-2008

Table 53 Sales of Smoking Cessation Aids by Subsector: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 54 Smoking Cessation Aids Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 55 Smoking Cessation Aids Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 56 Forecast Sales of Smoking Cessation Aids by Subsector: Value 2008-2013

Table 57 Forecast Sales of Smoking Cessation Aids by Subsector: % Value Growth 2008-2013

EYE CARE

Sector Data

Table 58 Sales of Eye Care by Subsector: Value 2003-2008

Table 59 Sales of Eye Care by Subsector: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 60 Eye Care Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 61 Eye Care Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 62 Forecast Sales of Eye Care by Subsector: Value 2008-2013

Table 63 Forecast Sales of Eye Care by Subsector: % Value Growth 2008-2013

WOUND TREATMENTS

Sector Data

Table 64 Sales of Wound Treatments by Subsector: Value 2003-2008

Table 65 Sales of Wound Treatments by Subsector: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 66 Wound Treatments Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 67 Wound Treatments Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 68 Forecast Sales of Wound Treatments by Subsector: Value 2008-2013

Table 69 Forecast Sales of Wound Treatments by Subsector: % Value Growth 2008-2013

EAR CARE

Sector Data

Table 70 Sales of Ear Care: Value 2003-2008

Table 71 Sales of Ear Care: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 72 Ear Care Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 73 Ear Care Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 74 Forecast Sales of Ear Care: Value 2008-2013

Table 75 Forecast Sales of Ear Care: % Value Growth 2008-2013

ADULT MOUTH CARE

Headlines

Sector Data

Table 76 Sales of Adult Mouth Care: Value 2003-2008

Table 77 Sales of Adult Mouth Care: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 78 Adult Mouth Care Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 79 Adult Mouth Care Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 80 Forecast Sales of Adult Mouth Care: Value 2008-2013

Table 81 Forecast Sales of Adult Mouth Care: % Value Growth 2008-2013

CALMING AND SLEEPING PRODUCTS

Sector Data

Table 82 Sales of Calming and Sleeping Products: Value 2003-2008

Table 83 Sales of Calming and Sleeping Products: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 84 Calming and Sleeping Products Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 85 Calming and Sleeping Products Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 86 Forecast Sales of Calming and Sleeping Products: Value 2008-2013

Table 87 Forecast Sales of Calming and Sleeping Products: % Value Growth 2008-2013

EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION

Sector Data

Table 88 Sales of Emergency Contraception: Value 2003-2008

Table 89 Sales of Emergency Contraception: % Value Growth 2003-2008

Table 90 Emergency Contraception Company Shares by Value 2004-2008

Table 91 Emergency Contraception Brand Shares by Value 2005-2008

Table 92 Forecast Sales of Emergency Contraception: Value 2008-2013

Table 93 Forecast Sales of Emergency Contraception: % Value Growth 2008-2013

OTC OBESITY

Sector Data

Table 94 Forecast Sales of OTC Obesity: Value 2010-2013

Table 95 Forecast Sales of OTC Obesity: % Value Growth 2010-2013

GRINDEKS AS

Strategic Direction

Key Facts

Summary 3 Grindeks AS: Key Facts

Summary 4 Grindeks AS: Operational Indicators

Company Background

Production

Competitive Positioning

Summary 5 Grindeks AS: Competitive Position 2008

OLAINFARM AS

Strategic Direction

Key Facts

Summary 6 Olainfarm AS: Key Facts

Summary 7 Olainfarm AS: Operational Indicators

Company Background

Production

Competitive Positioning

Summary 8 Olainfarm AS: Competitive Position 2008

RIGAS FARMACEITISKA FABRIKA AS

Strategic Direction

Key Facts

Summary 9 Rigas Farmaceitiska Fabrika AS: Key Facts

Summary 10 Rigas Farmaceitiska Fabrika AS: Operational Indicators

Company Background

Production

Competitive Positioning