When purchasing prescription drugs, Internet pharmacies based abroad will no longer be able to grant discounts in future. The Bundestag passed a corresponding regulation on Thursday evening.

The regulation is intended to ensure that the same price for prescription drugs always applies everywhere – regardless from where a drug was bought. The stationary German pharmacies are to be protected more strongly against online competition from abroad, since the German drug price law is not applicable to them.

Surcharges granted Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) stated in writing that the local pharmacies are an important point of contact for patients. “They provide indispensable services for the supply of the population”, which has just shown “the current situation in the pandemic”. The aim of the change is to ensure fair competition and also to ensure the supply of medicines in the city and in the country and can ask for money for it. For example, they are granted a permanent surcharge of EUR 2 50 for patients in need of care. They could also make their customers special offers, such as prevention programs or pharmaceutical care for cancer therapy. For this, the pharmacies are made available by the federal government 150 millions of euros. The “medical profession of the pharmacist” will be strengthened in this way.

Contested markets The big European online -Pharmacies are also preparing against Amazon’s entry into the drug business on the Internet. The largest European mail-order pharmacy DocMorris and its Swiss mother, Zur Rose, are setting up their own “online health marketplace”. This should also make it easier for stationary pharmacies to do business on the Internet. Zur Rose would then also earn money from sales via the marketplace – just like competitor Amazon already on its platform.

(kbe)