kohlpharma – pointing the way
Our population is becoming older and older. The associated rising costs of healthcare represent an enormous challenge. It is in relation to the supply of medicines that we want to make an active contribution towards ensuring high-quality and yet affordable healthcare.
Since the company was founded in 1979 – and so for over 40 years – kohlpharma has been continually expanding the import of medicinal products into Germany.
We use the varying prices charged by multinational pharmaceutical companies for one and the same product in the respective EU member states.
In this way we are able to supply patients in Germany with well-known original medicinal products by prominent manufacturers – while at prices which are, on average, 10 percent more affordable.
The savings are even higher in the case of many medicinal products. This benefits patients as well as statutory medical insurance schemes.
The direct savings due to price differences alone have been proven to represent 264 million euros per year.* EU-wide competition between manufacturers and importers has the effect of tangibly restraining prices and price rises in the pharmaceutical industry within certain limits. This currently results in further savings of 2.6 billion euros per year.** In this way, we are making a significant contribution towards ensuring the cost-sensitive supply of medicines.
As a family-run and independent medium-sized business, the needs and interests of our customers – namely pharmacies and large-scale pharmaceutical wholesalers – are also important to us. And the concern closest to our heart is supporting owner-managed local pharmacies. They represent the backbone of the patient-centred supply of medicine across the whole of Germany.
In future kohlpharma will continue to use its market-leading position to actively facilitate ensuring affordable and patient-centred medicine supply and to make a major contribution towards this.
*Source: PROGNOS-Studie: Finanzielle Auswirkungen des Imports von Arzneimitteln auf das Gesundheitswesen. Last updated: November 2018
**Source: INNO-Studie: Studie zu den indirekten Einspareffekten und –potentialen von Arzneimittel-Parallelimporten der inno AG im Auftrag der European Association of Euro-Pharmaceutical Companies (EAEPC). 2019
Prof. Edwin Kohl
Founder of the company
Edwin Kohl is an entrepreneur – heart and soul. However, for him a flair for business success is not an end in itself.
The financial sustainability of our healthcare system and the reconciliation of environmental and economic concerns have always represented the driving force for his business activity.
Jörg Geller
Managing Director
Jörg Geller is one of the best-known managers on the pharmacy market and one of the most prominent representatives of the segment. He regularly makes position statements on various topics relating to the pharmacy market and health policy.
In so doing, his focus is on ensuring basic competition at all levels, especially competitive pricing for prescription medicines