Current issue #16, 2015

Extraordinary subcommission

Experts are critical regarding chances of creating a drug procurement list based on trade names

In one year of its operation, the subcommission on drug circulation, contrary to what Russia’s Health Minister has claimed, has failed to enter any drugs into a procurement list based on trade names. PharmVestnik managed to find out that the subcommission includes generic manufacturers, which challenges neutrality of reviewing bids for single-source purchasing of originator drugs. At the same time, physicians complain that an alternative way of providing for prescription to their patients of the therapies they need, i.e. reporting generic side effects to the Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare and Social Development (Roszdravnadzor), does not work in practice. As a result, many seriously ill patients, being faced with extraordinary health risks, have the only option of purchasing expensive drugs out of their pocket notwithstanding vain wishes of the Ministry of Health top management.

[PharmVestnik #16, 19/05/2015, p. 1, cont’d pp. 4-5]

Without support

Manufacturers identify counterfeit medical products all by themselves

In mid-April, at the bacteriological lab of a Yaroslavl clinical hospital, 20 kg of culture medium were found with counterfeit packaging and labeling. These counterfeit products were discovered by the Research Center of Microbiology and Biotechnology, which is the manufacturer of the originator products. This was not for the first time that the Center’s personnel discovered fake medical products all by themselves. Seemingly, on the wave of the latest amendments to the Criminal Code, regulatory authorities should have reacted quickly and should have reported withdrawal of counterfeit products and detecting one more criminal group. Already a month ago, the information on the two first criminal cases commenced on-the-fly regarding the facts of discovering counterfeit drugs was in all media. However, in the case with the counterfeit medical products from Yaroslavl, it took rather long waiting for Roszdravnadzor’s reaction.

[PharmVestnik #16, 19/05/2015, p. 2]

Totally based on science

Russian biopharmaceutics stakes on cooperation between the state and businesses

Moscow Institute of Physics and T...