Auction ends Swedish pharmacy monopoly

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Sweden sold 465 of its estimated 900 state-owned pharmacies to four firms for 5.9 billion kronor (572 million euros, 856 million dollars), authorities said Monday, ending a 36-year-old monopoly.

All the winning bids were placed by Swedish companies established for the sole purpose of running the pharmacies. Almost all of them are operated by venture capitalists, and one of them is partly owned by a Finnish firm.

Christian Jebsen, a public relations officer for the agency in charge of deregulating the pharmacy market, told AFP there were international bidders for the auction but would not name any firms or countries.

The Financial Times said Monday that Alliance Boots, Europe's largest pharmacy group, was among "the bidders poised to learn this week whether it had been successful in an auction for part of Sweden's monopoly pharmaceutical retailer."

The Apoteket chain of pharmacies is currently the sole provider of prescription medication in Sweden, and was until this month also the only provider of non-prescription drugs such as headache tablets or other over-the-counter products.

As of November 1, Swedes wanting to buy non-prescription drugs can do so at selected stores, including some gas stations and grocery shops.

Under the new, deregulated, structure Apoteket will still operate "around 300 (pharmacies) of a little bit over 900 pharmacies," in Sweden, Jebsen said, adding the state-owned stores would still have "a substantial share of the market."

Firms could start operating pharmacies under their own brand names "sometime early next year, maybe January or February," Jebsen said, adding the acquisitions still had to be approved by the country's competition authority and its medical products agency.

The Swedish government has previously argued that putting an end to the Apoteket monopoly would improve the availability of medicines for customers in the form of more pharmacies and longer opening hours, and create downward pressure on prices as more providers entered the market.

It had expected both domestic and international interest in the Swedish pharmacy market.