Parallel imports are another important element of the WaveData database.

“PI”s are genuine proprietary products, produced under protection of a trademark, patent, or copyright, placed onto the market abroad and then imported into the UK without the authorisation of the UK licence-holder. (They do, of course, need the appropriate MHRA or equivalent licence to be imported into the UK.)

Parallel importing is completely legal within the EU and exists when there are significant price differences between countries, making this trade attractive.

Price differences can be due to either exchange-rate variations, pricing strategies by pharmaceutical companies or national regulations. This is generally the case in the EU where prices of medicines are not solely governed by free market competition, but are controlled by individual governments.

Our subscribers are able to use the database to measure the occurrence of PI’s in their market and thus examine the potential impact on their own sales. It is even possible for UK licence-holders to monitor the activities of their wholesalers & distributors once equalisation deals are in place!

In addition, WaveData offers a further service with respect to PI’s:

For a modest annual fee, we operate a PI Alert Service, whereby we will undertake to monitor the market for a given suite of products, and to provide e-mail advice to the UK licence-holder when we find occasions on which new PI’s enter the UK market. There are many instances whereby timely notice of new PI’s by WaveData has prevented significant sales slippage.

Further details of this service can be obtained by using the Enquiry Form.