Azerbaijan fences off Russian drugs
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 1, cont’d p. 5]
Rare tablet
Social activists call on regional authorities not to forget about rare disease patients funding issue
Experts believe that 12 billion RUB allocated by the government to Russian regions for purchasing drugs for patients with orphan or complicated chronic diseases is a one-time “throw in”. Subventions cannot resolve all problems related to drug coverage of rare disease patients. The orphan drug availability and affordability issue was to be discussed at the recent All-Russia People’s Front forum visited by the President of Russia. However, this topic has been hushed up, possibly because the funds had been transferred to the regions shortly prior to that event, experts think. These funds helped prevent a collapse, but the question is still open on how the regions are going to cope with drug coverage of the patients in 2016. The regional authorities need to think about that now and keep making their presence felt by the Federal government.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 1, cont’d p. 2]
Web-based therapy
Digital Health representatives discussed pressing issues of physician education and regulatory framework
An open meeting titled “IT in Medicine: Trends and Prospects” was held in Moscow on September 15. Representatives of the medical information portal MedAboutMe who organized the event described it as a “Digital Health business elite come-together”. During the meeting, the “elite” wisecracked each other in an intelligent manner, which, regrettably, has not resulted in an outright conflict.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 3]
In full view
Moscow City Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund opens access to CMI data
Moscow City Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund launched a web service that makes it possible for each citizen insured within the CMI system to access the information on the scope and cost of medical serviced provided. In the service founders’ opinion, this project will provide for stopping the ongoing public discussion regarding transparency of this insurance model.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 1, cont’d p. 4]
Lost in interpretation
In the Ministry of Health order amending the drug prescription procedure, experts pinpointed a clause contradicting the INN-based prescription provision. They explained at the ministry that the new provision correlated with the prescription system currently in force and that the amendment related to internal drug circulation in hospitals only. The Federal Antimonopoly Service intends to check the regulatory provision regarding drug prescription in hospitals for anticompetitive implications.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 4]
Pharma companies target not only new drugs but also their availability and affordability for patients
New cancer drugs have mechanism acting on a specific tumor cell section. Hence their “targetness” as not every tumor possesses a component being a drug target. Thus, these new-generation cancer drugs are targeted; each drug is suitable for a specific patient group only, which means that it cannot be cheap. Roche held a conference for the leading world media in order to convey the information not only on the latest developments in oncology but also on availability and affordability of the company’s drugs for patients in different countries. PharmVestnik observer Elena Kalinovskaya visited this media conference.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 7]
Who shall choose the drug?
The idea of limiting self-treatment runs into unpreparedness of polyclinics
Drug manufacturers proposed to the Russian government a “prescription” making it possible to painlessly cut the drug advertising volume on TV without prohibiting anything directly. To this end, it is necessary to limit the OTC drug list. Thus, the OTC drugs will make their way to the Rx category, which will rule out their commercials running on TV. At the same time, fewer patients will be aware of these drugs, which may limit self-treatment. In turn, such approach will provide for decreasing manufacturers’ profits.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 8]
Business conversation
Business representatives asked hot questions to regulator
Day 2 of the Import Substitution Exhibition (15—17 September, Crocus Expo, Moscow) was given to roundtable discussions. The roundtable on import substitution in medical and pharmaceutical sectors that was most impressive in terms on the number of speakers was moderated jointly by Victor Dmitriev, CEO of the Association of Russian Pharmaceutical Manufactures, and Olga Kolotilova, Director of Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry Development Department of Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry. Representatives of manufacturing companies and professional associations took advantage of this virtually “backroom” setting to ask hot questions to the regulator directly. PharmVestnik observer Elena Mekshun was present at this event, too.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 9]
Guaranteed by State
Government health expenditure in 2015
On September 17, Aston Group held a business breakfast titled Optimisession. This event, the first in the training workshop series, focused on benchmarking of health funding in different Russian regions with PharmCompass tool.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 10]
Nine Pharma CEOs made their way to top Russian managers rating
The Russian Managers Association and Kommersant Publishers presented their 16th annual rating “ТОР1000 Russian Managers”. PharmVestnik presents the rating sections associated with the Pharma industry.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 11]
Size, geography, and quality
Rating of Russian pharmacy chains, H115
It looks like the turbulence of the year 2015 inspired the top-ranking pharmacy chains to get away farther from their competitors. The main thing is that they grasp for any chance to grow larger without looking back at the crisis and warnings about its negative effect on the consumer sector. The very fact that 3 years ago, there was only one 1000+ strong pharmacy chain in Russia, and currently there are four such chains, tells its own tale. However, such quantitative parameters as the number of pharmacies in a chain and its geographic coverage do not guarantee high qualitative parameters, especially if it goes about the average turnover per pharmacy. It is enough to study the current rating to see what we are driving at.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, pp. 12-14]
St. Petersburg universities “anchor” at Almazov Federal Medical Research Center
The main task of the medical research and education cluster “Translational Medicine” recently set up in St. Petersburg as a successor to Almazov Federal Medical Research Center is to joint efforts for the benefit of patients in the economically challenging environment.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 16]
Investment and bureaucracy
Pharmaceutical enterprises of Sverdlovsk region are completing their current projects while not venturing for anything new. Apart from the Western economic sanctions and crisis, the local investment environment is to blame. According to the Strategic Initiative Agency, the region’s investment attractiveness is much lower than that of its Ural Federal District neighbors.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 16]
“Miracle-working” droppers
The Russian government set a task: by 2018, the circulatory disease mortality rate must go down to 694.4 cases per 100,000 population. Since 2013, Kirov region has been implementing a drug coverage project aimed at decreasing the cardiovascular catastrophe rate. Kirov region Health Minister Elena UTEMOVA told PharmVestnik correspondent Irina Volgina about the project implementation progress.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 17]
Partnering with Astana for business verticalization
One of the survival strategies in a crisis environment is becoming a state supplier. With this thought in mind, Yekaterinburg Research and Production Enterprise (RPE) Children’s Rehabilitation Medicine that manufactures equipment for infantile cerebral paralysis patients seeks to extend its niche by way of embracing Kazakhstan’s medical facilities. In September, the RPE founder Eugeniy Krupin is to launch a JV with Kazakhstan partners in Astana.
[PharmVestnik # 29, 22/09/2015, p. 17]
