Raising the Stakes in European Drug Distribution
Executive Summary
The trend in drug distribution in Europe is toward larger, more vertically integrated players, with stakes in a variety of areas, including retail pharmacy and generics, that US wholesalers don't play in.
The trend in drug distribution in Europe is toward larger, more vertically integrated players, with stakes in a variety of areas, including retail pharmacy and generics, that US wholesalers don’t play in. But the expanded capabilities are also creating more powerful wholesalers who are crossing traditional geographic boundaries, creating pan-European strategies, the best example of which is Germany’s Gehe AG which has over the last couple of years made major acquisitions in France and England.
Unichem’s bid for pharmacy chain, Lloyds Chemists, would have created the UK’s largest wholesale/retail network. But at press time, Lloyd’s future was thrown in doubt because of an anticipated rival bid from Gehe. Whether Unichem or Gehe prevails remains to be seen, but it suggests that the competitive battleground for European drug wholesalers is getting larger as wholesalers begin to play a more prominent role in the pharmaceutical supply chain.