HOMEOPATHY TODAY

Economic reality of homeopathy

Homeopathic therapeutics is not a market in itself. Like other therapeutics (antibiotherapy, chemotherapy, vaccines, surgery, etc.), it responds to the expectations of patients and doctors.
Within the pharmaceuticals market, it is important to differentiate between so-called “prescription” drugs that are necessarily prescribed by a doctor from OTC (“Over The Counter”) drugs that may be purchased without a prescription. Homeopathic drugs may be prescribed by a doctor or directly sold without a prescription.
In certain European countries, single homeopathic medicines may be reimbursed by public health systems.

The world pharmaceuticals market

• At the end of 2003, the world pharmaceuticals market was estimated at 466.3 billion dollars (manufacturer’s price), a 9% rate of growth with respect to 2002*. With 49% of the world market, North America is in the number one position, followed by the European Union (25%) and Japan (11%).
• In the 13 largest consumer countries, the world sales of prescription drugs increased by 9.0% in 2002, reaching 275.8 billion dollars. An 11% increase was noted in the United States (147.4 billion dollars) while an increase of about 6.0% (60.0 billion dollars) was noted in the main European markets (Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Spain).
• The self-medication market is estimated at 48.2 billion dollars*, that is 13.4% of the world pharmaceuticals market. This market covers a large range of therapeutic classes, in particular treatments applied to disorders of the respiratory apparatus, pain killers, vitamins, minerals and other food supplements.
Europe is the leading market in world sales of OTC drugs with 15.3 billion dollars, followed by the North American market with 12.8 billion dollars.
In France, the OTC drug market is estimated at over 770.5 billion euros*.

Homeopathy: 0.3% of the world drug market

With almost 1.5 billion euros (manufacturer’s price), the world sale of homeopathic drugs accounts for 0.3% of the world drug market. The growth potential for homeopathy is therefore considerable. Almost 70% of all homeopathic drugs are sold in Western Europe.
France, with over 300 million euros, is the largest homeopathy market in the world, followed by Germany (200 million euros). 40% of the French have already been treated with homeopathy*, and 74% of the patients stated that they are “inclined to follow a homeopathic treatment if prescribed by their doctor”.
Homeopathy has been making major advances in other regions such as the Mediterranean basin, South America, Eastern Europe or even India.