Parallel import makes original, innovative medicines available at lower cost and provides both direct and indirect cost savings to social health insurance systems, other third-party payers and consumers. It is the only competitive form for any specific medicine during the life of its patent and it gives wholesalers, pharmacists and patients a choice.

Direct savings of hundreds of million of Euros every year accrue to social health insurance and national health services in every country with incoming parallel trade. This is because national governments and/or their national health providers have introduced various measures to guarantee savings from parallel trade. To these direct savings must be added much greater indirect savings due to parallel trade being the only form of price competition with monopolistic patent-protected brands.

Not only does a parallel importer have to beat the price of the medicine directly imported by the domestic trademark owner, it will also need to compete on price and availability with other parallel importers operating in the same national market. It has been shown that the price of any specific parallel imported medicine continues to fall the more parallel trade entrants there are.

The availability of a parallel imported medicine, or even the threat of them, can result in lower prices for the domestic equivalent. The resultant savings are almost certainly much greater than those achieved directly by parallel import, but they are difficult to quantify.

Without parallel import, healthcare contributions by the taxpayer would be higher and many patients would face paying more at a time of growing need for prescription medicines. With newer and improved medicines becoming increasingly expensive, and with the range of parallel-traded products expanding and more countries being involved as parallel trade destinations, there is a huge potential that savings will increase - as long as supply is not hindered by artificial barriers, such as quota systems or dual pricing by manufacturers, to free movement within the EU.