A Mouse-Click to Medicine

According to Thursday’s ruling by the European Court of Justice, Germany has to allow the sale of non-prescription drugs by Internet mail order. The court found that the current German ban is in contradiction of European law, as it infringes on the free movement of goods.

However, the court also ruled that a national ban is permissible if it applies to drugs that haven’t been approved in Germany, or drugs that require a prescription.

But that part of the ruling will effectively become irrelevant next year as new German laws aimed at modernizing the country’s health regulations will allow mail order for all approved medications starting on January 1, 2004.

The European Court of Justice handed down its ruling in relation to a lawsuit brought by the Deutscher Apothekerverband (DAV), an association of German pharmacists, against the Dutch pharmacy DocMorris.

Since June 2000, DocMorris has been selling prescription and non-prescription medicines over the Internet, targeting German consumers in particular. Consumers are able to contact health experts on the site’s “Internet pharmacy,” or ask drug-related questions via phone or mail. The DAV claimed that the service ran contrary to Germany’s laws on the regulation and advertising of medicinal products.

Victory for both sides

Both the DAV and DocMorris said they are satisfied with the court’s ruling. According to DocMorris, the court acted to protect the free movement of goods, as well as the health of consumers.

The Dutch company is planning its expansion in the German market, and foresees opening a German production center to cut transportation costs. The company’s president, Ralf Däinghaus, recently told the German economic magazine “Junge Karriere” that in five years’ time, “DocMorris will have half a billion Euros in turnover and be the biggest pharmacy in Germany.”

Even though most German media see the ruling as a defeat for German pharmacists, DAV chairman Hermann S. Keller welcomed the court’s view that a ban on mail order sale of prescription drugs is justified.

However, Keller criticized “the impatience of German lawmakers,” who he said have unnecessarily liberalized the regulations on mail order drugs. “As of next year, the sale of medicines through mail order might be allowed, but economically, it’s not going to be of any interest,” Keller said, adding that many drugs are set to go down in price next year, and that consumers still value the quality and service benefits of going to a traditional pharmacy.

Can Internet pharmacies deliver?

The DAV maintains that Internet pharmacies don’t offer sufficient information about the products on their site, or about the health risks associated with those products.

A day before the ruling, German Health Minister Ulla Schmidt (picture) said that the government is interested in allowing a “regulated, controlled and supervised electronic trade, including Internet mail order” of medicinal products.

Under the new German regulations, only pharmacies with adequate logistics for quick delivery and enough staff to ensure proper consumer protection may sell medicines over the Internet. Schmidt said Germany should not be shut out of “modern technologies and new sales methods.”