Medicines for stomach ulcer, heartburn, gastritis, constipation and diarrhea are the best-selling drugs in Bulgaria, announced Prof. Nikolay Danchev, Vice Dean for pharmaceutical sciences at the Sofia Medical University.

Medication for heart and blood vessels disorders occupies second place in the ranking, followed by antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs. Remedies for asthma and allergies also register top sales.

Bulgarians have taken medicines worth over BGN 2 B in 2010, including drugs reimbursed by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), according to the Bulgarian Drugs Agency.

According to the statistics, generic medicines are four times cheaper than the equivalent brand name drugs.

Over the past year, Bulgarians have spent BGN 960 M on generic medicines, BGN 915 M on brand name medication and BGN 144 M on food supplements.

An estimated 20-30% of Bulgarians refuse to take the medicines they have purchased after reading the patient information leaflet and learning about the side effects.

"The people must not be spared this information. Even if the side effects occur in 2 out of 2 million cases, the drug maker is under obligation to list the condition", Danchev says.