Finland to close record number of pharmacies this year

A record number of pharmacies will close across Finland in 2024, with government cuts to drug pricing and tightened pharmacy taxation making many branch pharmacies unprofitable, reports Yle.

Ten pharmacies have already closed or are set to close this year, following seven closures in 2023—figures far exceeding the typical annual average of two to three closures over the past decade, according to data from the Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea). The shutdowns affect both small municipalities and major cities, including Helsinki, where one pharmacy is slated for closure.

In Central Finland, two pharmacies have closed this year: one in Huhtasuo, a district of Jyväskylä (population 150,000), and another in Luhanka (population under 700). Similar closures have occurred in Rovaniemi and Pieksämäki, where pharmacies on the outskirts of city centres have shut down.

The Pharmaceutical Association of Finland attributes the closures to government measures implemented at the start of 2024, including cuts to reimbursement rates for prescription drugs, which reduced pharmacies’ profit margins. Additionally, pharmacy taxes and levies on branch pharmacies have increased.

All closures so far involve branch pharmacies—secondary locations operated by the same pharmacist who owns a primary pharmacy elsewhere. While customers may not distinguish between main and branch pharmacies, closures reduce local access to medication and expert advice.

Branch pharmacies, often located in smaller communities, previously qualified for tax deductions to sustain operations. However, recent government reductions to these deductions have pushed some into losses, forcing closures.

Pharmacist Kirsi Levijoki, who operates a main pharmacy in Karstula (population 3,500) and a branch in Pylkönmäki (population 850), notes that government cuts have not yet impacted her businesses. However, her Pylkönmäki branch has been unprofitable for years, and its losses deepened after the local welfare district closed a nearby care home. Levijoki cannot unilaterally close the branch; she must apply for Fimea’s approval.

Customers value local pharmacies, with Karstula’s pharmacy praised for its accessibility—the nearest alternatives are tens of kilometres away.

Further changes loom: starting in 2025, supermarkets and other retailers may apply to sell over-the-counter medications, a move fiercely opposed by pharmacists, as these sales are often more profitable than prescription drugs.