The Laspeyres price index for APIs imported to Russia in Q1–Q2 2022 was –1%, marking the first time in the past 5 years that the prices for foreign APIs have been declining. Besides, this is only the fifth deflation in the past 12 years, the last time dating back to 2017. After that, in 2018–2020, the Russian market witnessed a galloping inflation. In late 2020, the inflation rate hit a historic high, when the pandemic stopped API production in China and the prices jumped by nearly 24%.

In January–May 2022, Russia imported 15.6 billion rubles’ worth of veterinary drugs (customs clearance and VAT included), 2.6% down from January–May 2021, and 19.3 billion rubles’ worth of feed supplements, up 11.8% from the same period in 2021. Notably, feed supplements for pets helped the growth rates, having increased 2.2 times against January–May 2021. As for veterinary drugs, imports of products for both livestock animals and pets went down.

In January–May 2022, Russia imported 333.1 billion rubles’ worth of ready-made pharmaceutical drugs (customs clearance and VAT included), up 7% from the same period in 2021. As for bulk drugs, the import was 70.4 billion rubles, up 11.6% from January–May 2021. In physical terms, the growth rates were negative for both groups: –10% for ready-made drugs (660 million packages), and –31% for bulk drugs (655.8 million minimum dosage units—MDUs).

In January–May 2022, Russia imported 91 billion rubles’ worth of APIs (customs clearance and VAT included), up 7.4% from January–May 2021. In physical terms, the growth rate was 16.7%, with 8,600 tons imported.

In January–May 2022, Russian manufacturers produced 311.1 billion rubles’ worth of pharmaceutical drugs (manufacturer’s prices, VAT included), more than 30% up from January–May 2021. In physical terms, the production volume was 1.8 billion packages, up 5.6% from January–May 2021. If calculated in minimum dosage units (MDUs), the manufacture was 33.5 billion MDUs (up 2.7%).

From January to May 2022, the offline sales of veterinary drugs in the Russian retail market were 9.1 billion RUB (retail prices, VAT included), down 0.2% from January–May 2021, which means that the market is stagnating, pressured by the online segment. In physical terms, the volume was 56.6 million minimum dosage units (MDU), down 18.4% in MDUs.

According to a survey conducted by the RNC Pharma analyst company and the Medvestnik platform for doctors, 88% of Russian doctors do not think that the current obligatory medical insurance (OMI) plans cover the actual expenses, with their opinions varying slightly on how much the plans do cover. For example, one-third of the respondents (32.7%) believe that the plans cover at best 50%. The second most popular opinion (25.6%) was “from 50 to 60%.”

Various patient organizations have repeatedly said that a standard doctor’s appointment should be longer. At the same time, 59.2% of Russian doctors would spend this additional time for “physical examinations and direct questioning”, according to a survey conducted by the RNC Pharma analyst company and the Medvestnik platform for doctors.

In January–April 2022, Russia imported 12.4 billion rubles’ worth of veterinary drugs (customs clearance and VAT included), down 3.6% from the same period in 2021. As for feed supplements, the import volume was 15.5 billion rubles, up 23.4% from January–April 2021.

In January–April 2022, Russia imported 260 billion rubles’ worth of ready-made pharmaceutical drugs (customs clearance and VAT included), up 3.1% from the same period in 2021. As for bulk drugs, the import was 57.7 billion rubles, up 24.6% from January–April 2021. In physical terms, the growth rate was negative for both group: down 9.3% for ready-made drugs (543.7 million packages), and down as much as 31.4% for bulk drugs (498.3 million minimum dosage units—MDUs).