Russian Industry and Trade Ministry sees no need for parallel imports of pharmaceutical products

SOCHI. Sept 19 (Interfax) - The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade sees no need to include pharmaceutical products on the list of goods for parallel imports (which allows for the importation of products without the consent of the right holder), and sees opportunities for the development of domestic enterprises while reducing the presence of foreign ones.

"Pharmaceutical products do not currently belong to the category of products banned for delivery to our markets. I was asked - is it not necessary to include it in the parallel imports? Today there is no need for this," Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said, speaking at the Biotechmed Forum.

He noted that at the end of 2021 the share of domestic products in the Russian pharmaceutical market was 35.6% (25.5% in 2014), and since March 2022 Russian companies have only increased clinical trials.

The shrinking presence of foreign manufacturers in the Russian market creates opportunities for Russian ones, Manturov added. "That is because the [Russian manufacturers] will close this niche, and we have now intentionally decided to introduce additional support measures - subsidies for R&D, that is the development, and substitution, including of medicine," he said.