Sweden's privately-owned pharmacies are suffering from financial troubles. The largest player on Sweden's pharmacy market, Apotek Hjärtat, has reported a loss of 358 million kronor ($56.4 million) after taxes, reports financial newspaper Dagens Industri.
After mistakenly pricking twelve people with the same surgical instrument during a regular health check, a local branch of Swedish pharmacy chain Doc Morris is now trying to contact those who might have been affected.
There has been great interest in starting new pharmacies in Sweden, which has led to a greater number of local pharmacies and increased consumer accessibilty according to a recent report.
Stefan Carlsson, CEO of Sweden's state-run Apoteket pharmacy chain, is to receive a 5.4 million kronor ($740,000) severance payment after being asked to leave his post in August of this year.
Swedish state-owned pharmacy chain Apoteket has confirmed that it plans to cooperate with supermarket chain Ica over the in-store sale of non-prescription and prescription drugs.
German pharmaceutical company Celesio has revealed plans to open a chain of more than 100 pharmacies in Sweden in an announcement that coincides with the introduction of a new law bringing an end to Sweden's pharmacy retail monopoly.
The government presented a bill on Friday that would allow Swedes to buy non-prescription drugs in shops other than the state-run pharmacies, bring the country closer to discarding the Apoteket pharmacy monopoly.
