Sweden’s Product of the Month system
Prices for many generic medicines in Sweden change every month. This page explains the mechanism and what it means for patients, pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies.
What is the Product of the Month?
Interchangeable medicines with the same active substance, strength and pack size are grouped into exchange groups. Each month the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) designates the available product with the lowest price in each group as the Product of the Month (periodens vara). Pharmacies must offer that product to patients collecting a prescription within the benefits scheme.
Next month’s prices become known around the middle of the month and are confirmed before the month begins. Periodensvara.se is updated daily, and with Premium you get an email as soon as the price of your medicines changes.
Why do brands switch?
When another company offers the lowest price, its product becomes next month’s Product of the Month and pharmacies switch to it. During the first 15 days of a new month, pharmacies may still sell remaining stock of the previous month’s product.
What does it mean for patients?
Patients may decline the switch and choose another interchangeable product, but then pay the price difference themselves, and that difference does not count towards the high-cost protection. Within the high-cost protection, patients pay the full cost up to a threshold, then a decreasing share, up to an annual ceiling. Once the ceiling is reached, monthly price changes do not affect what they pay.
Patients can usually collect at most three months’ supply at a time, and collect again once about two thirds of the previous supply has been used. Knowing next month’s price makes it possible to collect before a price increase or after a decrease.
What does it mean for the market?
Because the lowest price wins the whole exchange group for a month, positions change frequently. Between September and October 2026, the lowest-priced Product of the Month changed manufacturer in roughly six out of ten exchange groups. Following these movements over time shows which companies gain and lose positions and how price levels develop.
Not medical advice
Periodensvara.se is an information service and is not affiliated with TLV. Read more at TLV ↗.