Diabetes and obesity drugs drive Spanish pharmacy revenue growth

Medicine revenue rises faster than dispensing volumes

Diabetes and obesity treatments have become a major growth engine for Spain’s retail pharmaceutical market, as demand for a new generation of injectable medicines changes the product mix sold through pharmacies. Drugs associated with the trend include Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, although their approved indications are not identical.

Spain’s medicine market generated revenue of €21.260 billion in the twelve months to July 2026, compared with €20.048 billion in the preceding period. That represented annual growth of 6%, according to IQVIA’s Retail Pharmaceutical Market Trends Report, figures reported by El Confidencial Digital.

Dispensing volumes grew much more slowly. Pharmacies supplied 1.540 billion units, against 1.527 billion a year earlier, an increase of only 0.8%. The gap between revenue and unit growth indicates that higher-value categories and changes in the sales mix, rather than a broad surge in the number of products dispensed, are leading the expansion.

Antidiabetic drugs make the largest contribution

Antidiabetic medicines contributed 3.5 percentage points to the growth of the medicine market, according to IQVIA, placing them well ahead of every other category covered by the analysis. Sales in the category reached €3.705 billion over the latest twelve-month period.

Obesity medicines generated €328 million and were also among the categories supporting market growth, although their contribution was considerably smaller. Other positive contributors included analgesics, urological medicines, muscle relaxants and certain cardiovascular treatments.

The wider retail pharmaceutical market, combining medicines and consumer healthcare products, reached €28.504 billion. That was up from €26.908 billion in the previous period, equivalent to growth of 5.9%. Medicines therefore remain central to the sector’s expansion, with diabetes and weight-management therapies accounting for a significant part of the additional turnover.

Different indications and an illegal online market

Wegovy contains semaglutide and is authorised for weight management in people with obesity and in certain overweight patients with associated health problems. Its approved use is combined with a lower-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Mounjaro, based on tirzepatide, is also authorised for weight management in adults with obesity or overweight accompanied by certain weight-related conditions.

Ozempic has a different approved indication in Spain. Despite becoming widely associated with weight loss, it is authorised for adults with type 2 diabetes as a complement to diet and exercise. The distinction matters for pharmacies, prescribers and patients as demand expands across closely related but separately regulated products.

The popularity of these medicines has also encouraged an illegal market. In September 2025, the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products relayed a warning from the European Medicines Agency and national authorities about a sharp increase in illegal products marketed as GLP-1 medicines for weight loss and diabetes. The warning identified fraudulent products promoted through websites and social media, including products claiming to contain semaglutide or tirzepatide. The Spanish agency stressed that prescription medicines such as these treatments cannot legally be sold online in Spain.