The most consumed medications in Spain

Semaglutide, funded in Spain for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is the active ingredient with higher pharmacy spending during the year 2024with 403.9 million of euros invoiced, which represents an increase in 36.2% compared to the previous year, according to the report Pharmaceutical Benefit in the National Health System (SNS) 2024published this Thursday by the Ministry of Health.

According to the document, last year they were invoiced 1,200.3 million of containers through SNS medical prescriptions, which meant a total pharmaceutical expense of 13,865 million euros, a 4.9% more (650 million) than in 2023and a 44.4% more than in 2013 (4,261 million).

Per inhabitant, pharmaceutical expenditure through prescription is 285.2 euros per inhabitant in 2024which means a 3.8% (10.4 euros) more than in 2023 and a 39.9% (81.4 euros) more than in 2013. Extremadura is the community with the highest spending per inhabitant (393.8 euros), a 43% more than the national average, followed by Asturias (351.8 euros) and Castilla y León (345.4). In the queue are Melilla (233.2), Catalonia (235.8) and Balearic Islands (239.8).

TO December 31 of 2024the pharmaceutical benefit of the SNS included 22,557 drug presentations, which represents a 68.4% on the total of medicines authorized in Spain, as well as 4,680 health products. Over the past year, they were incorporated into public financing 1,269 new presentations, a 46% more than in 2023.

Furthermore, between 2023 and 2024 were introduced into the pharmaceutical provision of the SNS 39 new active ingredients with designation as orphan drugs (17 in 2024 and 22 in 2023), which means that the 33.1% of the new active ingredients that have been included in the pharmaceutical provision of the SNS are for the treatment or diagnosis of rare diseases.

The consumption of generic drugs increases

Of the 22,557 funded drug presentations, the 57.6% They correspond to generic medications. For Health, this “reinforces the role of these drugs in the efficiency of the system”, to which is added that their consumption of generic drugs has continued to increase and meant in 2024 he 47.4% of the total containers of medicines billed through prescription and a 24.5% of spending.

The report indicates that paracetamol remains the most consumed active ingredient in number of containers of generic presentations both in 2023 as in 2024with 60.3 million of containers invoiced in 2024. In second position is omeprazole, with 49.1 million of containers, followed by the analgesic metamizole, with 29.7 million of packaging.

The report also states that pharmaceutical spending in hospitals has been at 9,879 million euros in 2024. In this case, three therapeutic subgroups produce around 60 percent of total hospital pharmacy spending, antineoplastic agents (27.1%), immunosuppressants (23.7%) and antivirals for systemic use (7.4%).

In the hospital setting, the consumption of biosimilars reached 1,522.9 million of euros, which implies the 11.9% of total hospital drug expenditure. In turn, the consumption of orphan drugs in public network hospitals was 1,342.1 million of euros, eight percent more compared to 2024.

In a comparison with 13 countries from the environment of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with data from 2023 and 2022Spain is positioned as the third country in pharmaceutical sales in both years, with sales of 23,990 million of euros in 2023 and 23,155 million in 2022only behind Germany (56,026 million euros in 2022) and Italy (26,306 million euros in 2023 and 24,998.7 million in 2022).

Likewise, the document shows that Spain has 22,207 pharmacies who participate in the pharmaceutical provision of the SNS, seven more than in 2023 and 857 more than in 2010. Thus, in 2024 there was on average one pharmacy for every 2,189 inhabitants. Ceuta and Melilla are the communities with the highest number of inhabitants per pharmacy (3,466 and 3,439 rrespectively), while in Navarra and Castilla y León the population per pharmacy is lower (1,152 and 1,502).

Each pharmacy billed through SNS medical prescriptions a monthly average of 4,497 packaging, while in 2023 were 4,358 containers. The average monthly sale per pharmacy office is 61,924 euroswhile in 2023 was from 58,580 euros. Ceuta pharmacies are those with the highest average monthly sales in 2024 (95,584 euros), while in the pharmacies of Navarra sales drop to 28,366 euros.