Overview

• A July ruling by the Federal Court of Justice removed binding price restrictions on EU-based mail-order pharmacies, enabling foreign vendors to offer bonuses on prescription medicines.
• The German Pharmacists’ Association, led by Thomas Preis, has called on Health Minister Nina Warken to enforce the Social Code and penalize illegal discounting by foreign mail-order sellers.
• Pharmacists warn that unregulated bonuses could ignite a destructive price race, undermine national price binding and worsen shortages affecting around 550 medicines.
• Over 4,500 German pharmacies have closed since 2008 amid stagnant dispensing fees and rising operating costs, leaving many urban neighborhoods and rural areas without local drug access.
• The association is pressing for a substantial increase in pharmacy remuneration after more than a decade without significant fee hikes to stabilize community supply services.