German, Austrian and Swiss Drug Information in One Platform

The DACH region, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, shares a language but not a drug reference. Each country has its own: the Rote Liste and Gelbe Liste in Germany, the Austria Codex in Austria and the Swiss compendium in Switzerland. For a team that works across all three, that means three sources, three logins and, for a non-German team, a language barrier. This guide compares the three and shows how one platform bundles them. It is written for professionals, not patients.

Why does the DACH region have three separate drug references?

Each country regulates and publishes medicinal-product information nationally, so the reference work is national too. The three are not interchangeable: a product marketed in Austria sits in the Austria Codex, not in the German Rote Liste, and prices and reimbursement rules differ by country. For a DACH-wide launch, safety review or market-access project, the information a team needs is spread across three national works with no common search.

What is the Austria Codex, and is it available in English?

The Austria Codex is the Austrian reference for medicinal-product information, published by the Österreichischer Apotheker-Verlag. It carries Austrian product information, identifiers and prices, and is updated with regular supplements through the year. Like the German references it is German-first, so an international team usually needs either German-language access or a platform that presents the data in English.

What does the Swiss drug compendium cover?

The Swiss drug compendium, at compendium.ch, is the Swiss reference for approved medicinal-product information, recognised in the Swissmedic framework. It covers Swiss product information, with basic access free and professional information licensed for healthcare professionals. Switzerland is not in the EU, so its approval and pricing framework differs again from Germany and Austria, which is exactly why a DACH team cannot rely on a single national source.

How do Germany's Rote Liste and Gelbe Liste fit in?

Germany has two established references. The Rote Liste is a directory of marketed medicinal products with short information derived from product information, not full SmPCs. The Gelbe Liste Pharmindex, from Vidal MMI, is a reference directory widely used in the hospital segment. Both are German-market and German-language, the third national silo alongside Austria and Switzerland.

Germany vs. Austria vs. Switzerland: source, coverage and access at a glance

The table sets the three national references side by side, which no single national source does.

How do international teams get German, Austrian and Swiss drug data in English?

This is the barrier a national reference does not solve. An international market-access or manufacturer team reviewing a DACH portfolio needs the Austrian, Swiss and German data together, and in English. pharmazie.com includes the Austria Codex, the Swiss compendium and the German references among its 25+ databases, with English access, so the three national sources become one search rather than three projects. For the wider landscape, see our comparison of German drug databases.

Three national silos, one search: what consolidation changes

The change is practical, not theoretical. Instead of checking a product in the Austria Codex, then the Swiss compendium, then a German reference, a professional searches once and sees the DACH picture, with the country-specific product information, prices and status side by side. For a launch, a safety review or a pricing analysis across the region, that is the difference between three lookups and one.

Conclusion

The DACH region has three national drug references because it has three national systems, and that is not going to change. What can change is how a team works across them. pharmazie.com is the consolidated pharmaceutical data platform by DACON Datenbank Consulting GmbH that bundles 25+ specialist databases into a single search, exclusively for healthcare professionals, including the Austria Codex, the Swiss compendium and the German references, with German and English access. The clearest way to see the DACH view in one search is a short demo.

Further reading: German drug databases compared

See the DACH view in one search: book a demo