Pharmacies Rethink Services Amidst Rising Costs & Medicine Shortages

Published 06 March 2023

Author
Nienke Creemers
2 min read

Due to the cost-of-living crisis, 51% of UK pharmacists have noted an increase in people not collecting their prescriptions, and 67% have seen patients requesting cheaper medication (RPS, 2023). While governments in the UK and Germany have frozen prescription charges to halt soaring prices, pharmacies are rethinking their services to make medication more accessible.

  • The Transvaal Apothecary in the Hague is one of the few Dutch pharmacies preparing tailor-made medication in-house. Medicine shortages – caused by increased infections, inflation and supply chain disruptions – have led to more requests for personalised medication. After receiving numerous patient enquiries and a formal request from the KNMP (Royal Pharmacist Organisation) for gout medication (used by around 7,000 Dutch patients) the pharmacy increased its own production.  

 

  • Utah-based drug manufacturer Civica is building an insulin production plant to increase availability and reduce costs. It will sell generic versions of the three most common insulin types for $30 a vial (compared to an average of $300 per vial). Civica’s plans to produce insulin locally should also mean a quicker time to market. In addition, it’s also investing in a testing facility to quickly verify the quality of drugs.

 

  • The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (MCCPDC), from US billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, launched its online pharmacy in 2022 to provide patients with affordable medication – regardless of health insurance. Low prices are ensured by buying generic drugs from pharmaceutical manufacturers and selling to patients directly. The online pharmacy offers 350 types of medication, and 1.4 million people have already signed up to the service. MCCPDC is eventually planning to produce its own medicine.

 

  • In January 2023, Amazon introduced its RxPass, a Prime benefit from Amazon Pharmacy. The $5 prescription subscription gives US members access to generic medications that treat over 80 common conditions. Notably, patients do not need health insurance to use RxPass.

Want to know more?

This article is an example of Stylus' expert research into how trends are evolving. Get in touch so someone from the Stylus team can explain how your business can harness the power of trends and insights like these – and more.