In response to the lawsuit filed by the competition authority against DM, Christoph Werner, the company’s managing director, defended the sale of non‑prescription medicines through the dm online pharmacy as a contribution to a more affordable health system. He told the TV channel “Welt” on Thursday that the company’s actions “are in line with applicable law” and that he is confident the trend will continue in Germany because the health system must reform to remain capable of providing quality care. Werner argued that insurance contributions, designed as fringe‑benefits to keep wage costs from pushing the business out of competition, support the need for such reforms.
DM’s online sales are routed through a licensed pharmacy in the Czech Republic, a setup that Werner said is dictated by German regulations. He added that the model, delivered via the familiar drugstore format, responds to demographic shifts, growing public health consciousness, and the overload of the health system, which can limit patients’ access to timely appointments. He also noted that rising subsidies from the federal budget to protect wage‑related costs underscore the urgency of system changes. Since the end of December, DM has been selling over‑the‑counter medicines through its website.
