Prescription drop amid COVID-19 finally emerges in April

April outpatient prescription volume drops by 9% against 2019, when Q1 volume increased by 3%

Patients receiving long-term prescription to avoid visiting HCP could have influenced

The outpatient prescription volume in April has dropped by 10 percent against the same month last year.

 

The outcome contrasts to this year’s first quarter prescription volume showing an increase against last year.

 

Although the COVID-19 confirmed case curve in Korea seems to have gone down from April, the prescription volume shrunk even worse.

 

As chronic disease patients have received long-term prescription in the first quarter to avoid visiting healthcare institutes amid COVID-19, a long break in prescription has seemingly occurred in the month of April.

 

According to pharmaceutical market research firm UBIST on May 25, the total outpatient prescription volume in April was at 1.19 trillion won, which was brought down by 8.7 percent than in last year.

 

In 2018 and 2019, the April prescription volumes have surged by 8.3 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively, compared to the previous year, but it bounced back down in last April.

 

The April prescription volume this year has hit the lowest point in ten months since June last year.

 

Monthly outpatient prescription trend (Unit: KRW 100 million) Source: UBIST

The pharmaceutical industry experts evaluate that the COVID-19 impact on the prescription market has finally surfaced in the month of April.

 

Since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Korea, the industry was deeply concerned that the prescription drug market would be shaken as pharmaceutical companies’ sales activities have been diminished and increasing number of outpatient refrained from visiting healthcare providers.

 

But, the prescription volume up to March did not seem affected.

 

Apparently, the prescription volume in the first quarter reached 3.70 trillion won, which was 2.7 percent higher than last year first quarter at 3.60 trillion won.

 

The monthly prescription volume in January this year was dropped by 4.4 percent than last year by generating 1.22 trillion won.

 

On the contrary, the February prescription volume this year was surged by 13.0 percent, generating 1.22 trillion.

 

The industry experts analyze the number of business days in January and February have been affected by the early Lunar New Year holidays in Korea.

 

This year’s January with less number of business days than last year had less prescription volume and February with more business days this year had increased volume.

 

The total prescription volume in March was at 1.23 trillion won with 1.4 percent growth from last year.

 

But the volume in April had the steepest fall so far in the year.

 

In last year’s April, the prescription volume soared by 7.4 percent than the previous month, but this year’s April had a 3.2 percent dip from March.

 

Many of chronic disease patients receiving long-term prescription to avoid visiting healthcare providers could have created a significant prescription drop in April.

 

Apparently, the cases of patients receiving three to six months worth of prescription have skyrocketed when the confirmed case of COVID-19 peaked in Korea.

 

The experts also suspect the postponed school semester, social distancing and better-managed personal hygiene could have reduced the disease prevalence in infants and children, which also affected the drop in the number of visit to healthcare institute.

 

A majority of pharmaceutical companies in April had sluggish outcome in prescription volume.

 

Among the top ten companies—Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Chong Kun Dang, Pifzer, Daewong Pharmaceutical, MSD, Novartis, Yuhan, Boehringer Ingelheim, HK inno.N and AstraZeneca—nine companies except for AstraZeneca had stagnating prescription volume in April than the year before.

 

Top April outpatient prescription volume in 2020 by companies (Unit: KRW 100 million) Source: UBIST

Hanmi Pharmaceutical recording the highest volume of prescription has made 52.9 billion won in April, falling down 8.7 percent than in last year.

 

The Korean company’s first quarter volume was increased by 6.2 percent than in last year, but the volume was pulled back down in April.

 

Chong Kun Dang and Pfizer’s April prescription volumes also had significant drop of 10.5 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

 

Chong Kun Dang had a 1.7 percent growth in the first quarter, but the company took a steep fall in April.

 

Pfizer’s first quarter prescription volume was dropped by 4.1 percent, and the figure got worse in April.

 

The companies with the highest prescription volume, such as Daewoong Pharmaceutical, MSD, Novartis, Yuhan, Boehringer Ingelheim and HK inno.N, all performed worse than last year.

 

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca made 9.3 percent more in this year’s April than last year.

 

The multinational company’s first quarter prescription volume also grew by 9.7 percent from the year before.

 

The pharmaceutical industry expects the prescription drug market would take a sharp upturn soon, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has been dropping and the social distancing has been shifted to distancing in daily life.