Drugmakers fear for Russian pharma market due to shift to new drug labelling system

Leading Russian drugmakers, as well as global pharmaceutical producers, operating in Russia fear of the possible collapse of the local pharmaceutical market after February, 1 2021 – the date, when the simplified period of work of a drug labelling system ends, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

According to some Russian media reports, the concerns of market participants are related with the ability of the system to deal with the turnover of 100% labelled drugs.

The drug labelling system became mandatory for both drugmakers and pharmacies in Russia starting from July 1, 2020, when all domestically-produced drugs and imports must have contained a special code. The code was scanned at each stage of the distribution chain, sending the data on the movement of the drug in the Russian pharmaceutical market into a single information system.