Russia’s pharma imports resume growth for the first time since 2014

Drug imports by Russia for the period of January-September of 2017 grew for the first time since 2014 and amounted to 108.700 tonnes, which is 6.5% more than in the same period a year ago.

Experts note the interest of global pharmaceutical companies in returning their products to the Russian market after the crisis, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

The growth of imports was observed for the first time since 2014. In 2015 imports fell by 3%, while in 2016 by another 1.5% in volume terms. Revenue of importers for the nine months of the current year grew by 24.1% to $6.1 billion.

In January-September of 2017, the average price for imported drugs also increased by 16.6%. Earlier, this year Russian experts said domestic drugs are gradually replacing foreign ones, while imports are mostly accounted for expensive new-generation drugs.

Analysts of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said the growth of imports is mainly due to the growth of the domestic pharmaceutical market.

For January-August 2017, the Russian pharmaceutical market amounted to 831.6 billion roubles (~$14 billion) in value term, which is 10.5% more than for th0e same period in 2016. Of these, 30.7% were for domestic drugs, compared to 24% in 2014.

Analysts explain the reason for the growth of drug imports by the increase of the purchasing power of the population. Now foreign pharmaceutical companies are sure they will be able to sell their products in Russia.

Source