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Cold and flu medicine had the highest revenue out of all over-the-counter medications in German pharmacies in 2025. It made **** million euros that year. The next two most popular categories were general painkillers and cough medicine, with revenues of *** million euros and *** million euros respectively.

The pharmaceutical market

Medication is something that will always be lucrative, as people will always need it for various types of illnesses, whether it be a cold during the winter or something more serious, like a chronic disease. The chemical/ pharmaceutical industry was ranked as the fourth most important industry in Germany. This is perhaps not surprising, given the country’s history and the many leading pharmaceutical companies that were founded there. Germany has the third-largest OTC market in the world, after the United States and China. Pharmacies are often quite profitable in Germany, because unlike in some other countries, it is only possible to buy medication in pharmacies. In 2023, pharmacies in Germany generated a revenue of nearly ** billion euros, and since 2010 there has been a steady increase in revenue each year.

What medications are people taking?

Most of the revenue made by pharmacies in Germany came from medicine that was prescribed by a doctor, amounting to over **** billion euros in 2024. By contrast, the general sale medicines only made less than *** million euros. When it comes to the types of medicines that doctors prescribe to patients, the most popular type was stomach and digestive aids. These would be typically prescribed to people who have stomach problems.