The Russian State Duma of the 8th convocation intends to continue working on the draft law that introduces restrictions for the pharmaceutical retail market and wholesale companies. At the same time, it is willing to revise certain provisions, including the maximum amount of marketing bonuses. While it may seem industry-specific, both the stability of the Russian pharmaceutical retail and the pricing policy at all stages of the movement of goods directly depend on that provision.

From January to October 2021, the sales of veterinary drugs in the Russian retail market amounted to RUB 18.5 billion (retail prices, VAT included), up 5% from January–October 2020. The most important factor for the growth rates was the inflation rate, as well as higher demand for premium segment products in certain regions. In minimum dosage units (MDU), the growth rate was –5.1%, with the sales volume of 144 million MDUs.

From January to October 2021, Russian manufacturers produced RUB 489.1 billion worth of pharmaceutical drugs (manufacturer’s prices, VAT included), down 21.2% from the same period in 2020. In physical terms, the growth rate was –16.8% due to the so-called “high base effect”, essentially meaning that large volumes of drugs used for the treatment of coronavirus were produced last year. The total production volume in January–October 2021 was 3.34 billion packages, or 61.1 billion minimum dosage units (MDU). Notably, the growth rate is higher if calculated in MDUs compared to packages, albeit still negative, –6.3%.

According to a survey conducted by the RNC Pharma analyst firm and the platform for doctors Medvestnik, 60.6% of Russian doctors believe that only trained physicians are qualified enough to be in charge of a healthcare facility.