Chains obstruct opening of individual drugstores

A parliamentary commission tasked with evaluating the situation on the pharmaceutical market has found that drugstore chains are developing in Moldova to the detriment of individual drugstores. “Small-scale entrepreneurs are unable to open a drugstore as chains are promoting unfair competition”, stated MP Gheorghe Brega, the head of the commission, at hearings held on June 8, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Brega, such a situation exists only in Moldova. In European countries, a company is allowed to open no more than four outlets, said Brega. A solution, according to him, would be to intensify competition between chains, which would consequently trigger a drop in prices; another solution is to introduce new legislation that would allow pharmacy students to open their own drugstores after graduation. Attending the hearings, members of the pharmaceutical trade requested a revision of the standard-form contracts between drugstores and health providers so as to place the responsibility for the drugs that reach the patient on both parties, as today all the responsibility rests with the drugstores. The pharmacists also said that exchange rate fluctuations often affect prices, especially since the markup on drugs is regulated.