Drug Use In Russia: "Industry Must Educate"

High-quality ethical medicines are currently under-represented on theRussian market, Jonathan Harper, project manager at research company Maxwell Stamp in Moscow, told EuroForum's recent Russian health care conference (Marketletter October 20).

Reimbursement policy combined with traditional medical practices are as big an obstacle to these products' penetration of the Russian market as is broad distribution and sales coverage. Education of policymakers, prescribers, pharmacists and consumers is the biggest barrier to development of the sector, he said, and urged drugmakers to adopt a more proactive "pull" strategy, based on education.

The lack of federal drug policy means Russia's regions are having to design and implement their own policies to tackle their growing financing problems. Most regions probably now have reimbursement lists, and while these vary widely, many are biased against foreign makers, he said. Nor do the policies designed by the regions in recent years provide good value for money, because: