BRIEF—Russian drug prices coming down, figures show

Figures on Russian drug prices show that they are on their way down.

Viktor Dmitriev, general director of the Russian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (ARPM), a trade group representing pharma companies in the country, told a forum in Siberia that in 2017’s first eight months, retail prices of drugs on the vital and essential medicines (VEM) list had decreased by 0.9%.

The average price of drugs on the Russian commercial drugs market in September of this year was down by 0.7% compared to the same month in 2016, according to a further comparison.

Progress has also been achieved in the Pharma-2020 objective of increasing the proportion of medicines produced domestically. By value, latest figures show that these now make up 29% of drugs on the Russian market, up 1% on a year ago. In physical terms, they make up 59%, a 2% rise.