Katren acquiring a controlling stake in the Erkapharm chain is set to be the highlight event of 2021 for the Russian pharmaceutical retail. This deal is of interest first and foremost not because it is a big one and the first of its kind, but because it has launched active consolidation processes in the industry, and other wholesale companies can hardly stay away from these trends.

Between January and July 2021, Russia manufacturers produced 327.4 billion rubles worth of pharmaceutical drugs (manufacturer’s prices, VAT included), up 21.7% from 2020 in monetary terms (rubles). The growth rates in physical terms (packages), however, were negative, which was rather predictable because of the rush demand during the first and second waves of COVID-19. The production volume in physical terms amounted to 2.32 billion packages, with the growth rate of -16.5%. If calculated in minimum dosage units (MDU), the growth rate is -7.9%, with the production volume of 45 billion MDUs.

Between January and July 2021, the sales of veterinary drugs in the Russian retail market amounted to 13.1 billion rubles (retail prices, VAT included), due to inflation up 5% in monetary terms (rubles) from 2020, with the price index of 7.9%. In physical terms, the market volume amounted to 101.1 million minimum dosage units (MDU), down 4.5% from last year.

Serious changes had begun on the market even before Katren completed its purchase of a controlling stake in the Erkapharm group. First, the structure of Erkapharm’s suppliers began to change—obviously, in favor of the new owner. But most importantly, the company seems to be preparing for a long overdue global reform of its retail. A number of Erkafarm pharmacies have been rebranded into Apteka.ru, and the process can continue if proven effective.

68% of Russian doctors are pessimistic about the possibility of reforming the pay system in the healthcare industry, according to a survey conducted by the RNC Pharma analyst company and the platform for doctors Medvestnik. 59% of them “do not believe the situation can change at all” and another 9% think that “those who wanted a decent salary left the state healthcare a long time ago.”

Most Russian doctors prefer to actually get vaccinated against COVID-19 and not buy a fake certificate, according to a survey by the RNC Pharma analyst company and the Doktor Na Rabote (Doctor at Work) social media service for doctors. Around 69% of the study participants were already vaccinated at the time of the survey, and another 15% were ready to get the vaccine at the earliest opportunity. About 10% had medical reasons preventing them from getting vaccinated and did not need a fake card.

Out of 1,119 health workers (doctors, nurses, laboratory assistants, etc.) who took part in the survey conducted by the RNC Pharma analyst company and the platform for doctors Medvestnik, only 11%, or 129 people, refuse to get vaccinated. Only 7% of those has objective reasons, i.e. medical contraindications, another 20% had a high antibody titer after a previous infection, which might allow them to postpone vaccination, but not to avoid it forever.

Out of 1,119 health workers (doctors, nurses, laboratory assistants, etc.) who took part in the survey conducted by the RNC Pharma analyst company and the platform for doctors Medvestnik, 66% have already been vaccinated from COVID-19 (Fig. 1). Another 12% have not yet had time to get vaccinated, but are willing to do it in the near future.

Between Q1 and Q2 2021, the sales of veterinary drugs in the Russian retail market amounted to 11 billion rubles (retail prices, VAT included), up only 3.8% in monetary terms (rubles) from 2020, which is much lower than the inflation rate of 8.3%. In physical terms, the market volume amounted to 93 million minimum dosage units (MDU), with the growth rates of +3.1%.

Between January and May 2021, Russian manufacturers produced 239.1 billion rubles worth of pharmaceutical drugs (manufacturer’s prices, VAT included), up 26% from the same period last year in monetary terms (rubles). The growth rate in physical terms (packages), however, is still negative, -9.2%, with the production volume of 1.7 billion packages. Despite the serious drop in packages, the growth rate in MDUs (minimum dosage units) is much better: -1.7%, 32.6 billion MDUs produced. Apart from the falling demand, the standard package has changed.