The acute phase of the COVID-19 epidemic in Russia has more or less passed, to the point that the coronavirus realities have even begun to be safely forgotten. The virus obviously has affected the pharmaceutical market in general and the pharmaceutical retail in particular, especially since there are enough “concomitant diseases” in the industry as it is. The results of the second quarter of 2020 are negative, as expected, the consumers have to settle for the stocks made during the rush, and the macroeconomics also leaves much to be desired.

19% of doctors say that they will definitely get vaccinated against coronavirus after such an opportunity arises, according to a survey by the RNC Pharma analyst company and the Doktor Na Rabote (Doctor at Work) social media service for doctors. Interestingly, a significant part of those who chose to write their own answer (4%) said they refuse to vaccinate due to a previous illness.

The COVID-19 epidemic naturally became the central issue of the first half of the year. For distributors, it was a time of emergency work, a major change in both business processes and cooperation with the retail. Larger companies have long been trying to tighten relations with the retail, but the epidemic revived this trend, and made it one of the key issues in relations with partners. As a result, most of the top distributors have cut a considerable number of their delivery points. The top distributors’ share was also declining, but the factor of uneven market development was of prime importance here, since the state segment grew several times faster than the retail.

Between January and June 2020, Russia imported 6.29 bln RUB worth of veterinary vaccines (customs clearance included), which is in monetary terms (rubles) 13% higher than in 2019, even though the importers stocked up their warehouses in late 2019. The import volume of veterinary vaccines in 2019 has grown by more than 37%. In the first half of 2020, the import volume amounted to 3.39 mln units, with the dynamics of +0.4%. If calculated in dosages, the dynamics are -6.7%, and the import volume is 23.32 bln dosages.

Between January and June 2020, Russia manufactured 232 bln RUB worth of pharmaceutical drugs (manufacturers’ dispatch prices, VAT included), which is in monetary terms (rubles) 24% higher than in 2019. The dynamics in physical terms (units) are +18.3%, with the manufacture volume of 2.45 bln units. If calculated in minimum dosage units (MDU), Russia manufactured 42.7 bln MDUs, with the dynamics of +21.2%.

44% of Russian doctors believe that the COVID-19 situation is stable, but at the same time note that the morbidity rates have not significantly reduced, according to a survey by the RNC Pharma analyst company and the Doktor Na Rabote (Doctor at Work) social media service for doctors. This opinion is shared by 60% of the respondents residing in Moscow and St. Petersburg and by only 37% of those residing in the other regions. However, no one expects complete unanimity, because the epidemiological situation obviously differs from region to region.