On March 16, Minsk /Nadezhda Radivon - BELTA/. The share of domestic medicines in the Belarusian pharmaceutical market is increasing. This was announced today at the "Pharmaceutical Business of Belarus" business forum by Dmitry Petrovich, a representative of the research company "Intellix-M", as reported by a BELTA correspondent. This trend has been observed in the republic since 2008, with an annual growth of 1-1.5% in monetary terms. In 2010, for the first time, the share of drugs from Belarusian manufacturers increased by 2.7%. In physical terms, the figures are even more impressive, as imported medicines are several times more expensive than domestic ones. This was achieved by the fact that, along with the largest domestic manufacturers RUP "Belmedpreparaty" and Borisov Medical Preparations Plant, non-state enterprises "Lekpharm" and "Pharmland" have increased their capacities. For the first time in many years, the top three positions in sales are occupied by domestic manufacturers "Belmedpreparaty", "Pharmland", and Borisov Medical Preparations Plant. SOOO "Lekpharm" also made it into the top ten. Overall, the volume of the Belarusian pharmaceutical market in 2010 amounted to $676 million in calculated selling prices, which is almost 10% more than in 2009. In terms of the number of packages sold, the market has remained stable for the last four years. The drug consumption per capita was $71.35, and the average price per package sold was $1.78. The most in-demand drugs are for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and antibacterial drugs. Demand for vitamins is decreasing. Approximately 26% of supplies in monetary terms and 17% in physical terms are accounted for by the hospital segment. "In 2011, according to optimistic forecasts, the market may grow by 7%. We anticipate a decrease in the share of imports, as the substitution of imported drugs with Belarusian ones will develop at a higher rate," said Dmitry Petrovich. As noted by Alla Dolgolikova, Deputy Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Inspection and Organization of Drug Supply of the Ministry of Health of Belarus, by 2014, the share of domestic medicines in the country's pharmaceutical market should increase to 50%, and the program "Import-Substituting Pharmaceutical Products" has been approved. She emphasized that ensuring the accessibility of medicines for the population is one of the components of state policy.