The European pharmacy automation market is valued at USD 1.705 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.25% to reach a market value of USD 2.970 billion by 2027. Europe being a capital-intensive country the demand for automation has increased in several sectors including the pharmaceutical market. With growing research and development activities in the healthcare and pharma sector along with the growing technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) automation algorithms, the market for European pharmacy automation is anticipated to grow on a substantial scale. Also, with the government-aided funding schemes for the pharma industry, the future of the segment is highly projected to incorporate the newest technological reforms like pharmacy automation.

Rapid innovations in the automation industry like robotic dispensers and automated tablet packaging machines are further expected to fuel the growth of the European pharmacy automation industry during the forecast period. Also, the increasing penetration of health-tech start-ups in Europe and evolving drug development discoveries are prominent contributors to determining the future growth of the pharmacy automation market. Additionally, with the increasing demographic aging population, the need for delivering pharma services and products for the elderly is expected to transform into a flexible, faster, and efficient means making the accessibility to medicines and other crucial supplies for the sound health of the old population, thereby serving as a vital factor in propelling the growth of the European pharmacy automation market. However, the regulatory laws and guidelines laid down by the European government bodies on technologies like artificial intelligence are expected to restrain the overall growth of the European pharmacy market owing to the unfavorable regulations for the robotics and automation players.

Growth Factors

• Increasing Research and Development, Innovations, and Investments in Healthcare

The Europe pharmacy automation market is expected to show significant growth in the future owing to the high expenditure spent by companies and governments on research and development along with the innovations and other investments in the healthcare segment. As per the 2021 Key Data report of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), the research-based pharmaceutical industry witnessed an investment of EUR 39 billion in R&D and employed over 830,000 people. Further, according to Eurostat, the total healthcare spending in Europe for the year 2019 stood at a massive EUR 1.386 trillion. Moreover, new innovations and projects by pharma companies are expected for the future demand for automation in the pharma sector. For example, Sanofi, in its February 2020 press release announced that it plans to create a European company dealing with the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), with expected sales of EUR 1 billion by 2022.

• Growing Healthtech, Drug Development, and Aging Population

The growing emergence of health-tech start-ups in the European region and increasing drug development are vital factors for enabling the future growth of the European pharmacy automation market. With artificial intelligence (AI) marking its presence globally including in healthcare, the rise of health-tech start-ups is expected to have a rapid increase. Growing adoption of telemedicine and other advanced functionalities and operational innovations by leveraging AI, the European Pharmacy automation market is expected to surge in a substantial manner. According to November 2020 article by Sifted, the health tech start-ups in Europe saw an investment of USD 2.3 billion in the third quarter of 2020. Also, the same article stated that to date there are 626 digital health companies across Europe, out of which 63% were founded in the last five years. Major drug developing companies in Europe are extensively deploying AI in their cycle of drug development. For instance, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), in September 2020, established an AI hub in London for the discovery of new drugs to treat cancer and other ailments.

Further, the growing aging population in Europe is another driving factor for the growth of the Europe pharmacy automation market in the future. With the increase in the elderly population, the healthcare segment in Europe is expected to transform to provide efficient healthcare to elderly patients along with flexible pharma deliveries.

Restraint

• Non-Favorable European Laws towards the Automation Industry

The European standards and laws for the automation industry and technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are not in the best interest of the robotics and automation players who are willing to drive the market and develop solutions for industries like pharmacy automation. As per the November 2021 article by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), the European Union’s flawed artificial intelligence regulations endanger the social safety of the citizens. As per the same article, the regulation released by the European Commission in April 2021 considers some rule-based algorithms, which by technical definition will not be considered artificial intelligence (AI). Also, the regulation considers some social scoring and biometric surveillance as unacceptable risks to aspects like privacy, non-discrimination, and other human rights.

Europe Pharmacy Automation Market Scope:

Market Segments

• By Application
  • Automated Dispensing System
  • Automated Packaging and Labeling System
  • Automatic Storage and Retrieval System
  • IV Pharmacy
  • Others
• By End-User
  • Hospital Pharmacy
  • Retail Pharmacy
• By Country
  • United Kingdom
  • Germany
  • France
  • Spain
  • Others