Russia's pharmaceutical industry is facing a critical juncture, with its self-imposed isolation having profound implications for the country's healthcare system. This issue is not just about medicine; it's a complex web of politics, economics, and public health.
On one hand, you have Russian expats who swear by their homeland's remedies, seeking them out fervently. On the other, there are Russians within the country, battling chronic illnesses, who view domestic drugs with skepticism, often going to great lengths to access imported medication.
The author, who identifies with the latter group, shares a personal anecdote about an allergic reaction to a supposedly identical medication bought in Moscow, highlighting the dubious quality of Russian drugs. This is not a new problem; it has roots in the Soviet era, with jokes about inferior aspirin circulating then.
But the situation has now reached a critical stage. A proposal by a State Duma Budget Committee member to sell pills individually to save costs is a stark illustration of this. The author's friend with heart disease, who spends his entire pension on medicine, is a testament to the severity of the issue.
The Health Ministry's response to the disappearing imported medicines is to point to domestic equivalents, but this fails to acknowledge the unique needs of individuals with chronic illnesses. Every person's body reacts differently to drugs, and finding the right medication can be a challenging and costly process.
The issue of "foreign dominance" in the pharmaceutical market was raised at the Eastern Economic Forum, with a company representative complaining about the sales of drugs from "unfriendly countries." The deputy health minister promised to keep resources within the country, but this protectionist approach has led to a ban on foreign drugs in government tenders if a Russian manufacturer participates.
The true motivation behind this patriotic talk is money. The state's purchase price for some Russian drugs is higher than the actual cost of the imported equivalent, even with markups. Regional governments would logically prefer the cheaper option, but domestic firms lobby for "national interests" instead of lowering prices.
Regional officials are expressing concerns about the high costs of drugs and tight budgets. Some have even proposed offloading the burden of buying imported drugs onto charities, arguing that local budgets should be spent on Russian-made medicine. This rhetoric is particularly striking when it comes from officials with vested interests, such as the founder of a genetically engineered insulin plant, whose product has been linked to severe health issues.
The bureaucratic madness extends to a ruling by the Federal Antimonopoly Service that a clinic discriminated against domestic producers by requiring plastic needle caps on syringes, a basic safety feature. The clinic was fined, and the ruling has been adopted by other regional offices, meaning that syringes across Russia may soon be without caps, despite the country facing an HIV epidemic.
The government's plan to restrict imports of stents and catheters for state hospitals is another worrying development. Stents are crucial in emergency heart surgeries, and the ban on imported stents in public hospitals from July 2026 could have life-threatening consequences for those who cannot afford the high cost of private clinics.
Some may argue that protecting domestic pharma will foster innovation, but the reality is that Russian pharma giants don't need innovation to stay profitable. They operate by buying active ingredients from other countries and then mixing, compressing, and selling, often with subpar quality control. Most Russian drugs are made from imported active ingredients, and the rest are unrecognized elsewhere.
The higher prices and enormous profits from this system make it easier to lobby for import bans than to invest in real labs and train scientists. The author concludes that even if Russia banned all foreign medicines, it would still not produce its own Pfizer or Novo Nordisk, as these companies are part of a global network of research and investment.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Moscow Times.
