Montenegro

Montenegro is the smallest non-EU member state in Central Eastern Europe and an EU candidate state since 2012. The economy of Montenegro is a service-based upper middle-income economy with focus on tourism and real estate sectors. The average growth of Montenegro’s GDP in the last five years was 5% per year. Montenegro is a parliamentary democratic republic with a proportional electoral system. Legislative power is vested in the national parliament and the government. Official language is Montenegrin, a normative variety of Serbian and/or Croatian language.

Healthcare budget

$0.3 billion

Inhabitants

0.6 million

GDP per capita

$9.418

Currency

EUR

World Ranking

GDP 152nd

Statistics as April 21st 2021

Montenegro healthcare

The Ministry of Health in Montenegro guides a National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Contributions of employers and employees entitle citizens to fully reimbursed health care. This program covers most medical services.

Private health insurance exists in supplementary form but is not integrated in the fully public national healthcare system. Quality of services is ranked 23rd in the Euro Health Consumer Index (2019),

Healthcare spending in Montenegro is below EU average, at approx. 6% of GDP (vs. EU average of 9.8%).

Montenegro’s Pharmaceutical environment:

Montenegro is the smallest pharmaceutical market in Central Eastern Europe, demonstrating growth over recent years. In 2020 it was approximately 85 million EUR, with three local companies, mostly in the role of wholesalers, having 70 % market share (Montefarm, Glosariji and Farmegra). Generic medicines are dominating the market.

Access to innovative medicines and orphan drugs is mostly obtained in neighboring countries, Croatia, and Serbia.

Today challenges:

Expected life at birth is 77 years (2019), a 4-year increase since 2000, but is still 4 years below the EU-27 average (81 years).

The healthcare budget is under pressure due to the ageing population, increased use of medicines and slow, but steady introduction of new medicines.

Overweight to obesity is present in approximately one quarter of adults (vs.12% world avg.), smoking is one of the nation’s main healthcare hazards, with 36% of adults being smokers.

The number of physicians in Montenegro is 1 400. There is only one tertiary center at the capitol Podgorica.

The expert in North Macedonia

Jiri Hermanek

Challenge us with your case and we will show you the possibilities for your product.

Services

Sales and Marketing

Entering the European market is not easy. Up to 51 countries with different healthcare systems. What is your strategy? Apart from the Big-5, what do you do with the other 26 countries? We offer a solution for 26 countries. Sales and marketing is our core business.

Learn more

Distribution

We manage, through our logistic partners with their regional warehouses, the distribution to our region (26 countries). They have the capability to handle the most demanding of specialized product order management, storage, handling and distribution requirements.

Learn more

Early Market Research

You know that market research is critical. It provides customer insights, competitive intelligence, behavioural tendencies, and product positioning. And market research increasingly is becoming an important component for linking R&D and marketing teams.

Learn more

Market Access

Achieving reimbursement and getting the right price are the 2 most important drivers for a successful launch of an innovative pharmaceuticals in our part of Europe. Health Authorities in any European country decide individually based on their local regulations, policies, framework, social values and available health care budget.

Learn more

Market Authorisation

Unlike other regions, in the EU a number of options is available to obtain a marketing authorisation. Centralised at the European Medicines Agency in Amsterdam or decentralised with the individual competent authorities of the member states, each marketing authorisation application procedure has its pros and cons.

Learn more

Pharmacovigilance

Pharmacovigilance is the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other medicine-related problem.

Learn more