Russia prepares for a new wave of drug prices growth this year

Russia is preparing for a new wave of drug prices growth this year due to a new bill, designed by the national Parliament aimed at tightening a control for the activities of domestic pharmacies, The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent reports.

The new bill proposes to limit the so-called marketing bonuses of pharmacies, which may force them to increase prices by up to 20%. The clarification to the bill says that marketing campaigns distract pharmacists from work and force them to propose unnecessary drugs for customers.

It is planned that the growth of prices will not affect drugs from the list of vital, but will apply to the majority of other drugs available in the Russian market and will probably lead to the decline of their sales already in the short term.