Insulin sales in Russia hit a five-year low

Insulin sales in Russia have hit a five-year low, as local patients and government agencies have stopped buying the product for future use, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

According to a recent report of the Russian analytics agency DSM Group, sales of insulin in Russia over the nine months of 2023 decreased by 10.6% to 11.8 million packages compared to the same period last year. This is the lowest figure for the last five years. In the first three quarters of 2022, insulin sales in Russia, according to data of DSM Group, amounted to 13.2 million packages, and for the same period in 2021 - 13.4 million.

According to local analysts, at present insulin is mainly sold through governmental procurement in Russia. Through this channel, sales in January–September 2023 decreased year-on-year basis by 8.4%, from 11.9 million packages to 10.9 million packages. In the meantime, the decline of sales is also observed in Russian pharmaceutical retail and affects both domestic producers and global majors, operating in the Russian market.