Pharma has become Russified
Russians continue to run short of imported drugs in pharmacies. Some positions disappear temporarily, while others leave completely and do not promise to return. According to DSM Group analysts, over the last 7 months alone, the range of imported drugs in Russian pharmacies has decreased by more than 20%. MK learned from experts which drugs are leaving our market the most and whether we have anything to replace them.
Data from the analytical agency DSM Group indicate that if in the period from January to July 2022 there were 7.7 thousand unique trade names (SKUs) of foreign drugs on the Russian market, then during the same period of this year their number decreased to 6.4 thousand items. At the same time, analysts have been observing a reduction in foreign-made drugs for several years. Thus, in 2019, there were 8.7 thousand SKUs of foreign drugs in Russian pharmacies, and in 2021 there were already 8.4 thousand. Over the past 5 years, the reduction in foreign assortment has amounted to about 36%.
However, Nikolay Bespalov, development director of the analytical company RNC Pharma, does not agree with these data: “According to our data, in the pharmaceutical market as a whole, not only in retail, but also in the hospital sector, over 7 months the number of INNs (international nonproprietary names, that is, formulas) medicines) of foreign drugs decreased by 15, and by SKU we see a decrease of 91 positions. There is an increase in Russian drugs. If we talk about these 91 positions by SKU, then this is not 20% at all, but only a little more than 2%, which is an insignificant value for the Russian market, given the crisis and sanctions restrictions. You could say we got off easy. For comparison: in 2020, when there was covid and when the labeling system was introduced, the reduction in SKUs was almost 900 positions. That is, now the situation is ten times better than in 2020, when there were no such sanctions.”
— I think for almost everyone, although I can’t say for sure. At least we didn’t detect any problems.
— Yes, there is some reduction in the assortment for this group: about 30 imported SKUs have left the market. But this, however, sometimes means that the production of the drug was simply localized on the Russian market — and according to our laws it became Russian.
— No, the companies did not leave the market. Some simply re-registered, nothing major. But one company completely removed one of the botulinum toxins from Russia, and another — a drug for the symptomatic treatment of erectile dysfunction.
— Now everything is relatively normal. True, retail is rather stagnating, but this is not a problem. In some places there are even positive dynamics.
…The Association of Independent Pharmacies “MK” said that the top 1000 most popular imported drugs on the market remained, so there is no need to panic. And yet, over seven months of this year, sales of imported commodity items in packages decreased by 15–16%. “The withdrawal of a number of foreign drugs is not caused by sanctions restrictions, but by problems with logistics. It has become longer and more expensive,” says Victoria Presnyakova, director of the SRO Association of Independent Pharmacies, head of the Alliance of Pharmaceutical Associations. — Yes, and the consumer votes with rubles for domestic drugs, the cost of which sometimes differs favorably. In addition, Russian drugs are not inferior in quality to imported medicines.”
One of the directors of the capital’s pharmacies, on condition of anonymity, told MK that from time to time certain drugs disappear: “There were problems with Metipred and Regionon, De-nol, Berlition in ampoules, Galbus.” . Cialis is gone, but this drug has enough generics. There is no beloved Polish “Biseptol”, but it has been replaced by other modern drugs. Manufacturers announced the withdrawal of Ozempic (a popular drug for the treatment of diabetes) and Zepatir (for viral hepatitis C), but this will not happen tomorrow, so doctors will select therapy for their patients, and domestic companies will be able to complete research on their generics . Prozac (an antidepressant) has not been available from suppliers for a year now; for a long time there were interruptions in the supply of another drug, Zoloft (for panic attacks and PTSD), but in June the manufacturer notified the regulator that supplies would be resumed. All the imported Tamoxifen (a drug for the treatment of hormone-dependent cancer) has disappeared; the domestic one has appeared, but many patients are complaining about it. At risk today there is a drug for oral use, which contains hydrocortisone, under the trade name “Cortef” (it is produced only in the USA and Canada). Hydrocortisone is a vitally important drug and is the drug of choice for a number of serious endocrine diseases, such as adrenal insufficiency, cancer, some autoimmune diseases, and varying degrees of allergic reactions. Even minor supply disruptions can leave people without critical treatments. Currently, not a single drug with the active ingredient hydrocortisone in tablets is registered or produced in the Russian Federation, and the demand for it is great. Now it’s too early to sound the alarm, it’s available in pharmacies, but if something happens, there are no more forms for internal use in the Russian Federation (only injections and forms for external use will remain).”
According to the Association of Pharmacy Chains, drug rotation has always been present on the market. Often old, familiar products are replaced by new generation drugs. There are enough drugs on the pharmaceutical market, both imported and domestically produced. If one or another trade name is not available, the doctor can always choose a replacement — from synonymous drugs or analogues. Let us recall that synonymous drugs have the same composition of active substances (INN), but different trade names, since they are produced by different companies. “Therefore, our patients practically did not feel any reduction in the availability of medicines, and the disappeared foreign drugs were replaced with available domestic ones,” says Presnyakova.
As well-known pharmaceutical market economist and entrepreneur-researcher Pavel Lisovsky told MK, the decline in sales of imported drugs is caused by several reasons: “The first and one of the most important is the active work of domestic pharmaceutical companies that produce generics (copies) of leading import brands that are quite competitive , and make profitable offers to pharmacy chains. And chains are actively replacing imported items with domestic ones. For example, in 2020 the share of liquid dosage forms of domestic drugs was 0, and today it is 30%. That is, our companies are attacking large foreign brands that occupy a large market share. Second: in the period from 2022 to now, due to the instability of supply chains, foreign companies had frequent supply interruptions, so medicines disappeared from sale for a month or two. Third: since 2022, prices for imported drugs have changed significantly. It’s impossible to say which factor influenced more, but in general I see the reason in the internal activity of the market and consumer behavior — buyers began to switch more easily from foreign medicines to domestic ones.”