Pharmaceutical products market in Germany: size, suppliers and public contracts
Market size and key facts
In 2025, public buyers in Germany awarded 5,531 supply contracts for pharmaceutical products through award notices on TED; the 548 of them that state a value (9.9%) add up to €202 million, a floor rather than the full contract value. Germany imported €74.8 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to pharmaceutical products in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 3004, 3002, 3822 and 3003; all buyers, not only public ones), up 9.5% from 2023.
- Since November 2023, 605 companies have won 14,167 public supply contracts for pharmaceutical products in Germany, in 1,471 award notices from 131 public buyers.
- 96.4% of these awards went to companies registered in Germany; the most frequent foreign origin is Denmark.
- The five companies that win most often hold 24.1% of all awards.
- 22.3% of the awards whose notice states the number of tenders received a single bid.
In proportion
All public purchasing in Germany — general government spending on goods, services and investment, the measure the OECD and the European Commission use for public procurement — came to €864 billion in 2025, 19.1% of GDP (Eurostat). Award notices on TED cover only the contracts above the EU thresholds, so they show who wins, not the whole of that spending.
General government spending on goods, services and investment for health in Germany came to €293 billion in 2024 (Eurostat, COFOG). How much of it reaches suppliers through tenders depends on how the country organises the sector — for example whether statutory health insurance is classified in government.
Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.
Updated · counted daily from contract award notices on TED and Eurostat international trade data · figures as JSON · free to quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0)
How to cite: Cresques, "Pharmaceutical products market in Germany", https://cresques.com/markets/de/336-pharmaceutical-products, from TED contract award notices (© European Union) and Eurostat Comext, updated 13 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
What industry and official reports say
- EFPIA puts Germany's pharmaceutical market at €58.0 billion at ex-factory prices in 2024. EFPIA, The Pharmaceutical Industry in Figures – Key Data 2026
- EFPIA puts the European pharmaceutical market at €302 billion at ex-factory prices in 2024, with €330 billion estimated for 2025. EFPIA, The Pharmaceutical Industry in Figures – Key Data 2026
- Medicines for Europe reports that generic medicines account for 70% of treatment volume in Europe (2023). Medicines for Europe, Press release: Generic medicines: 70% of dispensed medicines and critical to healthcare
- Eurostat puts Germany's healthcare expenditure at €492 billion in 2023, 11.7% of GDP, the highest share in the EU. Eurostat, Healthcare expenditure statistics - overview (Statistics Explained)
- Eurostat puts current healthcare expenditure in the EU at €1,720 billion in 2023, 10.0% of GDP; medical goods took 17.8% of it. Eurostat, Healthcare expenditure statistics - overview (Statistics Explained)
Figures from the publishers named, checked at the source on 9 November 2026. They measure the whole market (all buyers, different price bases and country scopes), so they are not comparable one-to-one with the public contract counts on this page.
- Winning companies
- 605
- since November 2023
- Award notices
- 1,471
- on TED
- Public buyers
- 131
- hospitals, schools, agencies
- Imports 2025
- €74.8B
- all buyers, Eurostat
The market in numbers
Public supply contracts in Germany: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.
- Contracts awarded
- 14.2K
- in 1.5K award notices
- Awarded value
- €850.1M
- from 9% of awards with a published value
- Winning companies
- 605
- with at least one award
- Public buyers
- 131
- hospitals, cities, agencies
Table view
| Nov–Dec 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 3,700 |
| 2025 | 5,531 |
| 2026 | 4,928 |
Table view
| Nov–Dec 2023 | €0 |
| 2024 | €78.3M |
| 2025 | €201.6M |
| 2026 | €570.2M |
- Other3
Table view
| Hospitals and health services | 13,521 |
| Armed forces and defence agencies | 384 |
| Cities, regions and central administration | 142 |
| Social protection | 70 |
| Universities, schools and research | 25 |
| Police, fire services and prisons | 13 |
| Economic affairs | 6 |
| Environment and waste | 3 |
| Other | 3 |
- Hamburg8,427DE60
- Düsseldorf1,958DEA1
- Dresden1,633DED2
- Stuttgart1,137DE11
- Köln244DEA2
- Hannover240DE92
- Koblenz206DEB1
- Darmstadt75DE71
Table view
| Hamburg | 8,427 |
| Düsseldorf | 1,958 |
| Dresden | 1,633 |
| Stuttgart | 1,137 |
| Köln | 244 |
| Hannover | 240 |
| Koblenz | 206 |
| Darmstadt | 75 |
- Large companies
- Medium-sized
- Small
- Micro
- SME (size not stated)
- Size not stated
Table view
| Large companies | 9,594 · 67.7% |
| Medium-sized | 1,075 · 7.6% |
| Small | 319 · 2.3% |
| Micro | 166 · 1.2% |
| SME (size not stated) | 11 · 0.1% |
| Size not stated | 3,002 · 21.2% |
- Denmark112
- Czechia94
- Netherlands77
- Sweden72
- Belgium52
- Ireland37
Table view
| Denmark | 112 |
| Czechia | 94 |
| Netherlands | 77 |
| Sweden | 72 |
| Belgium | 52 |
| Ireland | 37 |
Table view
| 2023 | €68B |
| 2024 | €72B |
| 2025 | €75B |
- Hamburg8,427
- Düsseldorf1,659
- Dresden1,625
- Stuttgart1,134
- Wuppertal247
- Hannover237
- Bonn211
- Koblenz206
Table view
| Hamburg | 8,427 |
| Düsseldorf | 1,659 |
| Dresden | 1,625 |
| Stuttgart | 1,134 |
| Wuppertal | 247 |
| Hannover | 237 |
| Bonn | 211 |
| Koblenz | 206 |
Imports: Eurostat Comext, customs headings 3004, 3002, 3822, 3003 (only headings whose trade is mainly this category); all buyers, not only public ones.
Awards to companies registered in Germany
96.4%
513 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.
Share of the 5 biggest winners
24.1%
Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.
Lots with a single bid
22.3%
Among 14.1K awards whose notice states the number of tenders.
How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.
The same category across Europe: all 30 countries compared →
Among the companies that win most often
- ratiopharm GmbH92 public contracts in total
- Hexal AG80 public contracts in total
- Zentiva Pharma GmbH78 public contracts in total
- Abacus Medicine A/S164 public contracts in total
- PUREN Pharma GmbH & Co. KG56 public contracts in total
Where this industry meets in Germany
- COMPAMEDTrade fair · Düsseldorf, Germany
- MEDICATrade fair · Düsseldorf, Germany
- DMEATrade fair · Munich, Germany
- MedtecLIVETrade fair · Stuttgart, Germany
- 26. Kongress der DIVICongress · Hamburg, Germany
- LINC – Leipzig Interventional CourseCongress · Leipzig, Germany
Watch this market
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Which of these 605 companies could distribute your product?
A Cresques market map of Germany for this category shows the companies that win these contracts: how often, for how many buyers and for how much, and whether the leading ones are distributors or manufacturers.
Open this market map — freeFree account, no card: one market map, showing the first 5 companies with their contract awards. Paid plans show every company.
After sign-in the new-market form opens with Germany and Pharmaceutical products filled in.
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One page by e-mail within one working day: three distributors that already win public contracts for this kind of product in the country you choose, each one checked (is it a distributor, or a manufacturer's own sales company?), with its contract record, and the price of the full shortlist. If we can find fewer than three, the reply says so.
Read how to enter the Germany market.
Questions
- Who wins public contracts for pharmaceutical products in Germany?
- 605 companies won 1,471 contract award notices for these categories from 131 public buyers in Germany since November 2023. The companies that win most often are ratiopharm GmbH, Hexal AG, Zentiva Pharma GmbH, Abacus Medicine A/S, PUREN Pharma GmbH & Co. KG.
- How big is the pharmaceutical products market in Germany?
- In 2025, public buyers in Germany awarded 5,531 supply contracts for pharmaceutical products through award notices on TED; the 548 of them that state a value (9.9%) add up to €202 million, a floor rather than the full contract value. Germany imported €74.8 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to pharmaceutical products in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 3004, 3002, 3822 and 3003; all buyers, not only public ones), up 9.5% from 2023.
- Where do suppliers of pharmaceutical products meet buyers and distributors in Germany?
- At trade fairs and congresses such as COMPAMED, MEDICA, DMEA, MedtecLIVE, 26. Kongress der DIVI, LINC – Leipzig Interventional Course — each checked on the organiser's official website.
- How do I find a distributor for pharmaceutical products in Germany?
- Create a free Cresques account and open the market map for Germany and this category. It shows the companies that win public contracts there, how often, for how many buyers and for how much: the first 5 on the Free plan, every company on a paid plan. Where the data exists, the map also shows wholesalers from the business register, import figures and the industry's trade fairs.
Sources: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023, processed by Cresques (one award per procedure and lot); imports: Eurostat, international trade in goods (Comext), © European Union — only the customs headings whose trade is mainly this category, chosen by Cresques.