Producers criticize excessive pharma market regulation in Russia

Excessive regulation of the Russian pharmaceutical market and the lack of drug insurance system is leading to a shortage of some vital and effective drugs in the local market, according to recent statements by representatives of producers and analysts. 

As Viktoria Samsonova, head of the practice for work with companies in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors of KPMG in the CIS region, said during the conference “About pills and not only” (organized by the Russian Kommersant publishing house), the recent attempts to liberalize legislation, which have been conducted in the pharmaceutical industry of Russia in recent years, looked like an attempt to “patch up the gaps,” which have not led to a radical improvement of situation in the market,

Elena Litvinova, general director of NovaMedica, a Russian pharmaceutical company, said during the conference that for many companies, the excessive regulation of the procedure of bringing innovative drugs to the Russian market makes it unattractive for them and, as a result, Russian patients do not get access to the best treatment. 

Elena Litvinova comments: “In recent years, about 900 new molecules have appeared in the global pharmaceutical market, more than half of them are still not represented in the Russian Federation.” 

Finally, Artur Valiev, general director of Sun Pharma Russia, believes even after registration of a drug in Russia, its producer may not supply it to the market due to the small number of potential consumers and the absence of a drug insurance system in the country.

According to the head of the Association of Pharmaceutical Companies Infarma, Vadim Kukava, such a mechanism for providing patients with drugs should have appeared several years ago, however, according to him, it does not exist, and it is unclear whether it is planned to appear in the foreseeable future.”

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