Business model and market

Abacus Medicine is a distributor of original prescription medicines. Our business model is based on the core principle of the free movement of goods in the EU’s single market.

Currency rates and the price setting of original manufactures often make exactly the same medicine available at different prices in different EU countries. This allows Abacus Medicine to purchase the medicine in a low-cost country and make a profit by reselling it in a high-cost country. This is generally known as parallel trade, parallel distribution or parallel import.

The total market for parallel trade of medicines in Europe amounts to approximately 5.4 billion euros. The most important country is Germany, which accounts for more than half the total market. Because healthcare systems and national reimbursement rules differ substantially from country to country, a deep knowledge of each individual market is a cornerstone in the success of Abacus Medicine.

Healthcare costs are rising

We are living longer. Children born in Western Europe in 2017 have an average life expectancy of 79 years for males and 84 years for females. This is a lot higher than it used to be.

Since 1970, the average life expectancy of a citizen of Germany has risen 10.1 years and for people in Portugal 14.5 years. In other parts of the world, life expectancy has risen even more. (1)

Living longer, happy lives is obviously a cause for joy. But it comes at a cost: It is often very expensive. The proportion of elderly is growing in all EU-member states, and our changing demographics have sent healthcare costs soaring with seemingly no end in sight.

Already, we are beginning to see our societies straining to bear the burden. Hospitals are laying off staff to pay for expensive medicine, and money spent on healthcare cannot be spent on other things we might value – better schools, safer roads, or protecting the environment, for example.

When Abacus Medicine supplies medicines at a more affordable price, the result is significant savings for patients and public budgets. A number of studies (2) have shown that parallel imports of medicine create direct and indirect savings worth billions of euros annually.

Our strategy

Abacus Medicine is a market leader in the most expensive types of medicines, such as chemotherapies for cancer treatment or immunosuppressive drugs used in connection with organ transplants. Prices of 3,000 euros or more are standard for these medicines.

We pursue an ambitious growth strategy through selling many types of medicines in many different countries. We invest heavily in entering new markets and in increasing the number of medicines that we hold a license to sell. Most of our competitors focus on fewer and less expensive products in a few countries or even a single country.

Our presence in many different markets adds complexity to our business. To navigate this complexity we have developed advanced methods and IT systems for complex data analysis in real time. This creates an important competitive advantage, as it allows us to buy and sell in the right markets, operate efficiently in logistics and production, and reduce risk by limiting our stocks of expensive medicines.

This approach has been uniquely value-creating. Year after year, Abacus Medicine has reported strong, organic growth coupled with sound profitability above the industry average.

Today, you will find our offices and 500 people in several countries.

Timeline

Abacus Medicine is a young company that has come far in a short time. Browse through the main events of our journey below.

2004
Abacus Medicine is founded by father and son: John and Flemming Wagner
2006
First deliveries to Danish pharmacies and hospitals
2009
Abacus Medicine becomes the largest parallel importer of medicine to the Danish hospital network
2010
Beyond borders: Sweden becomes our first export market
2012
Abacus Medicine Hungary is established

First deliveries to Germany
2014
First deliveries in the Netherlands
2015
First deliveries in the UK and in Austria
2016
Turnover exceeds 1 billion DKK
First deliveries in France and Finland
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