Phil Thomas

Quick takeaway: PharmaFootpath is a trade-focused alternative to IQVIA, built for WDA license holders, sourcing teams, and small-to-mid pharma companies seeking lighter, more targeted analytics.

In conversations with Parallel Traders, Distributors, and other WDA license holders, one theme comes up repeatedly: "IQVIA is a great product, but we don't know if we need that level of detail, and we're looking for more focused or cost-efficient alternatives."

IQVIA is an enterprise-grade analytics suite - the perfect choice for 'Big Pharma'. But if your focus is international pharmaceutical trade, parallel trading, clinical trial supply, unlicensed medicines - where seeing an overview of the international pharma market is today - it’s not always the right tool. PharmaFootpath exists to solve that specific problem, with pricing in mind for smaller pharma companies.

When IQVIA Becomes Overkill

IQVIA’s value comes from its breadth - commercial, prescribing volume data, market access, claims data, pricing, etc. across global markets. That’s powerful, but expensive. Many small-to-mid-sized pharma teams report that they use only a portion of the data available, and often seek more focused, trade-specific insights.

You might be a better fit for PharmaFootpath if:

• You care more about where products are available and who has access, rather than its global list price.
• You need trade license activity (parallel trade data, authorised distributor information) - not hospital data feeds.
• You want to monitor product movement patterns, not forecast market share.

PharmaFootpath vs IQVIA: A Focused Comparison

When companies consider an alternative

Organisations have come to PharmaFootpath after considering whether IQVIA:

• Provides a level of detail that is not required for their type of business
• Lacks details in specific areas such as parallel trade
• Might not be optimised for sourcing and procurement teams

By contrast, PharmaFootpath:

• Is built by people experienced in international pharma trading
• Uses a range of data sources to provide procurement and sourcing teams with clearer visibility into medicine availability
• Provides structured visibility into parallel trade licenses not commonly surfaced in other platforms.

Use Case Snapshot

A successful company in the Baltic market was considering alternatives to IQVIA, and joined PharmaFootpath.

• They were spending over €70k annually for IQVIA access, but felt they weren't able to benefit from all the data available.
• The client reported limited ability to influence platform updates or request custom data, citing prohibitive costs and long turnaround times.
• Within 3 months of switching, the team realised the volume data wasn't essential to some elements of their work, and other new data made available was valuable.
  
  (Client anonymised; figures indicative.)

Final Thought: Right-Sized Tools for Right-Fit Teams

IQVIA is a great tool - for the right type of business. But if your focus is European pharmaceutical trade, licensing intelligence, and visibility into parallel trading, PharmaFootpath is a specialist alternative to consider.

Book a call with PharmaFootpath to have a more detailed conversation about how teams have reduced cost and gained new insights since switching from IQVIA.

Disclaimers

Comparative Information
All references to third-party services, including IQVIA, are made solely for comparison purposes, based on publicly available information and anecdotal client experiences. PharmaFootpath is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by IQVIA or any third party named herein.

Informational Purposes Only
This article is for general informational and marketing purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice, regulatory guidance, or a guarantee of outcomes. Users should conduct their own due diligence before relying on this content.

Data Sources and Accuracy
Insights and data presented are derived from third-party sources and internal analysis. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy, PharmaFootpath makes no guarantees as to the completeness, reliability, or timeliness of any information provided.

No Medical or Regulatory Advice
PharmaFootpath does not offer legal, regulatory, or medical advice. References to pharmaceutical data, licensing, trade activity, or related subjects are for informational purposes only and do not constitute professional guidance.

Case Studies & Outcomes Disclaimer
Any case studies, examples, or testimonials included are illustrative only. They reflect individual client experiences and are not intended to represent typical or guaranteed results. Actual outcomes may vary depending on factors such as geography, business model, data availability, and operational practices.

Trademarks Notice
IQVIA is a registered trademark of its respective owner. PharmaFootpath is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by IQVIA.

Parallel trade, also known as parallel import or parallel distribution, is a reality for every Marketing Authorisation Holder (MAH) operating in the European pharmaceutical market. While legal under EU free movement laws, parallel trade introduces commercial and regulatory complexity, particularly for originator companies. One of the most frequent challenges we hear from MAHs: "Where can we find out where our products are being parallel traded?"

The short answer: there is no single, confirmed source for this data. The more useful answer: if you know where to look, you can start to piece together the picture.

What Is a Parallel Trade License?

A Parallel Trade License (PTL) is a national-level authorization that permits a company, usually a licensed wholesaler or parallel importer, to import and distribute a medicine in a given EU country, even if the product is already marketed there by the originator.

These licenses rely on the existence of an original Marketing Authorisation (MA), and the product must be essentially similar. The license process differs between EU countries, but the underlying principle is consistent: if a medicine is legally available in one EU country, it can, in principle, be imported and resold in another.

Why MA Holders Want This Information

MAHs want visibility into parallel trade activity for several reasons:

• Regulatory risk management – Ensuring product presentation, labeling, and safety information are not compromised.
• Market dynamics – Understanding where their products are being re-imported helps inform commercial strategy.
• Price pressure signals – PTLs often emerge where price differentials between EU markets are greatest.
• Brand protection – Identifying potential misuses of packaging or branding in secondary markets.

Where to Find Parallel Trade License Information

While no central database lists all parallel trade activity, there are multiple fragmented sources MAHs can use:

National Regulatory Authority Websites

• Many EU national agencies publish databases or lists of medicines approved for parallel import.
• Examples:
  • Germany (BfArM)
  • France (ANSM)
  • Netherlands (CBG)
  • Denmark (DKMA)

EMA Notifications

• For centrally authorised products, the EMA publishes notices of parallel distribution approvals. These are limited but can be useful for specific product lines.

Medicinal Product Registers

• Some countries include parallel import entries in their general product databases. Searching by product name can uncover these.

Commercial Intelligence Tools

• Platforms like PharmaFootpath consolidate fragmented public and semi-public records to give MAHs visibility across Europe—saving hours of regulatory digging.

What You Can (and Can't) Learn

From available records, MAHs can typically learn:

• Destination markets – Where the license has been granted.
• Product identity – Name, strength, form, and pack size.
• MA reference – The original MA it references.
• Date of issuance – Timing can be useful to map trade activity trends.
• Origin market - Only for national registrations, in most markets.

However, most sources do not disclose:

• The name of the exporting wholesaler or trader
• The name of the importing wholesaler or trader

Still, by comparing issuance patterns across markets and dates, companies can infer probable source countries—particularly when cross-referenced with price trends and trade flows.

Variations in Terminology

When researching or setting up alerts, keep in mind that regulators and companies may use different terms:

• Parallel Trade
• Parallel Import
• Parallel Distribution

The terms are often used interchangeably, but some agencies differentiate them based on the authorisation route.

Final Thoughts

For MAHs, the lack of a single source of truth on parallel trade licenses can be frustrating. But the data is out there it just takes the right tools and methodology to extract it.

If you're a Marketing Authorisation Holder looking to monitor how and where your products are being parallel traded, PharmaFootpath offers a consolidated intelligence solution built specifically for the nuances of EU pharmaceutical trade.

Want to see where your products are showing up in parallel trade? Book a call with PharmaFootpath to have a more detailed conversation about how other MA Holders use our data to investigate parallel trade data.

We've decided to move this post to Mondays instead of Fridays. But will continue to capture important changes.

The latest updates on EMA product registrations in the last week include

With the launch of Zefylti, there are now 8 different biosimilars for Neupogen in the markets, a competitive space!

Paxneury is an interesting new generic in the market, the only one for Intuniv in the EU. While there are a few generics in the US registered and found in PharmaFootpath, Paxneury is the first EU registered generic.

Uzpruvo is a Stelara biosimilar, and the majority of others also have a vial presentation for intravenous use. Stada has now expanded their approved presentations to include this also.

Quetiapine extended release is being reported as in shortage in a number of individual EU countries, and now the EMA has recognised this in their shortages tracking. The issue appears to be that the majority of these extended release products are from the same manufacturer, and production issues there are causing issues in multiple markets.

The latest updates on EMA product registrations in the last week include:

There are now a significant number of Stelara biosimilars in the market, and competition is likely to be fierce throughout Europe as more tenders are released. It will be interesting to see how prices will stablise as this happenes, and how Stelara pricing will evolve in response.

Two new treatments related to Covid-19. One interesting point is this is the first authorised product for Arcturus Therapeautics. This company has an inhaled mRNA technology product for cystic fibrosis in development, that received orphan designation in February 2024.

There's a trend for launching more Pre-filled Pens, and Wezenla is the latest to add this presentation. Omvoh has added a patient orientated multidose, multistrength option to it's authorised presentations.

Shortages - No changes to the official EU shortages published in the last week.

A quieter week for product updates from the EMA, but still some interesting new announcements worth nothing

Two new products launched, one novel treatment, and a diagnostic. The final new product registration of note is the latest Stelara biosimilar to be launched, joining a number of others that have been registered in the last few months. This is bound to result in strong competition in the next 12 months, as more countries release tenders and Stelara loses market share.

Balversa was launched in August 2024 with 11 different variations available. There are 3 strengths were available, 3 mg, 4 mg, and 5 mg. At registration there were a number of different pack sizes available, now Janssen have reduced this down to 5 authorised presentations;

3 mg - packs size 56 and 84
4 mg - pack sizes 28 and 56
5 mg - pack size 28

There's unlikely to be any negative impacts for this to companies or patients working with this product.

Shortages - No new updates on centralised shortages in the last week. There are 13 ongoing EU level shortages in announcement, with Ixairo supposed to end immninently according to the last update, though this was a year ago. Such announcements are not always a reliable indicator however, with Fasturec expected to be resolved according to the MAH in June 2024, but remains an ongoing shortage.

PharmaFootpath news:

We're pleased to announce we now cover two further key markets, the USA and Switzerland! Please get in touch if you'd like to discuss these in more detail.