Analysis of the dynamics and characteristics of the pharmaceutical market of homeopathic medicines in Azerbaijan

Objective: To study the dynamics and characteristics of the market of homeopathic medicines (HMs) in Azerbaijan for the period 2019–2024.
Material and methods. Official information of the Ministry of Health, the Tariff Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Biological Medicine Clinic on the volume of HM receipts for the period specified was studied. The following key aspects were analyzed: HM product range indicators (breadth, variety, and depth); countries-producers and suppliers; the level of wholesale and retail prices for HMs. Forecasted indicators for the breadth, variety, and expected volume of homeopathic medicines for the year 2025 were calculated.

Results. Data for the 2019–2024 period demonstrated relative stability in the breadth, variety, and depth of the range of HMs in the pharmaceutical market of Azerbaijan. The forecasted breadth and variety of the HM range in 2025 was estimated at around 96 items and 408 positions, respectively. The range depth remained constant throughout the study period (p=0,928). The forecasted sales volume of HMs in 2025 reached 4.92×106 USD. The highest number of registered HMs was recorded in 2016 (effective date of registration of these drugs). Since then, the number of registrations was decreasing year by year, reaching single cases in 2023–2024. During 2019–2024, the dynamics of the most in-demand pharmaceutical form – soluble tablets – followed a non-linear trend (p=0.076). The dynamics of the market share of products supplied by the leading manufacturer Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH (Germany) during the study period demonstrated a nonlinear trend (p=0.994). Similarly, the trend in the market share of products supplied by Materia Medica Holding (Russian Federation) was also nonlinear; however, statistically significant differences were observed from 2019 to 2024 (p<0.001). Throughout the period under study, the HM market was dominated by products into the wholesale price range of 1.17 to 5.88 USD, and the share of these products remained largely unchanged (p=0.766). No statistically significant differences were observed in the distribution of retail price segments for HMs over the study period (p=0.882).

Conclusion. HMs have maintained their niche in the Azerbaijani market year after year, and their availability ensured through imports and an established distribution system.

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