BBJ: Is there still room for growth and development potential in Hungary’s pharmaceutical industry?

Judit Füzesi: I would rather speak of development potential, although naturally this may also have a growth impact. The current pharmaceutical value chain operates within a strict framework and at a high professional standard, and the foundations of the system are stable, but it needs to move to a new level of development. In recent years, relatively few genuinely major new products or technologies bringing meaningful breakthroughs have appeared on the Hungarian market. At the same time, the OTC [over-the-counter] segment has often seen brand acquisitions and packaging updates rather than the creation of real added value.

The direction of development should therefore not simply be about increasing volumes, but about improving access to innovative therapies, introducing solutions that enhance quality of life, and raising service standards. This may also require rethinking primary and inpatient care, addressing patient-centeredness and financing issues, and repositioning the pharmaceutical value chain.

BBJ: What urgent issues need to be addressed in pharmaceutical supply in Hungary across the sector as a whole?

JF: The most important question is how the sector prepares for regulatory and healthcare policy changes. If I take international examples and established practices as the basis, the market could move in a markedly more liberal direction in pharmaceutical trade over the medium- to long-term. The main question is not whether change will occur, but when it will happen, which areas it will affect, and how deep it will go. This includes issues such as pharmacy ownership and establishment, reform of the pharmaceutical reimbursement system, restructuring primary and inpatient care, and the overall financing basis of the healthcare system.

Regulation and any model change should also ensure, prescribe and enforce high professional standards. Liberalization can have a dual effect: on the one hand, it may improve access, raise service standards and lead to more cost-effective therapies; on the other hand, it may also pose risks for professional market participants, particularly smaller independent pharmacies. One of the sector’s most difficult tasks will be to find the right balance between stronger competition, patient interests, value-based therapies, professional safeguards, and the economic operation of market participants.

BBJ: In a continuously changing professional and business environment, what strategies are needed in the pharmaceutical trade, both at retail and wholesale levels?

JF: As in other industries, strategies are needed that account for both the value of the existing system and the possible consequences of the market opening to new players. In the coming period, more deliberate business development, innovation, and digital service capabilities will be required. Across international markets, the common denominators are largely vertical integration, online sales and high-quality patient or consumer services.

Hungary must also prepare for this: every participant in the pharmaceutical trade will need to develop service elements that can be implemented even in the short term. These may include reference pharmacy programs, supplementary health services and patient education, loyalty programs, data marketing, access solutions, home delivery and other online services.

A potential change in the market model could also attract new players to the Hungarian market. Because of the high professional requirements, operations meeting pharmaceutical quality standards, temperature-controlled logistics and specialized expertise involved, barriers to entry are high. This means that while smaller players may primarily find opportunities in digital service areas, significant openings in the core infrastructure are more likely to come from large international players.

BBJ: What services are needed, and what approach can ensure security of supply and medicine safety in pharmaceutical logistics today?

JF: Security of supply continues to be based on high professional standards in quality assurance, expertise, regulation, and responsible operation. The system continues to demonstrate its ability to ensure the safe supply of medicines to both the general public and institutions, while market participants work to prevent existing medicine shortages from escalating.

At the same time, alongside traditional logistics and pharmacy operations, a service-oriented approach will become increasingly important in the future. Patients and consumers are becoming more informed and discerning, and they may also increasingly expect the convenience and transparency they have become accustomed to in online retail from the pharmaceutical market.

Services may include preventive services for the public, online ordering and preparation solutions, medicine dispensing machines, home delivery, even drive-through pharmacies, personalized medication dispensing, systems supporting therapy adherence, and further niche digital solutions. All of this will require changes to professional regulation, a “more balanced division of labor,” and cost structures, their proportions and the fine-tuning of financing will need to become more central considerations.

The requirements of patient care demand a sustainable, innovative pharmaceutical supply chain that operates to a high professional standard. For these reasons, some keys to the future will be transparency, partnership, stronger competition, and the deliberate development of digital capabilities.

This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of September 4, 2026.

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