Russia increases procurements of high-priced drugs

The government of Russia has increased procurements of expensive drugs almost three-fold this year, mainly due the increase in the number of long-term agreements that are signed between the Russian state and drugmakers, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

According to a joint study from the Russian Headway analytical company and Pharmaceutical Bulletin paper, in the first half of 2022, a total of 98.4 billion roubles ($1.61 billion) contracts were signed in Russia under the high-cost nosology (VZN) program - the federal program that involves procurements of the most expensive drugs for state needs.

As the study says, this is three times more than it was in the same period last year. At the same time, the total budget of the program remained almost unchanged: in 2021 it amounted to 63.16 billion roubles. And this year, 66.9 billion roubles were allocated for the program.