Russian government may approve sale of drugs in convenience retail stores

The Russian government plans to approve the beginning of sales of drugs in convenience retail stores this year – in a move to make drugs more affordable to the local population, due to the reduction of prices for them, according to some senior officials of the Russian Ministry of Health and senior local experts in the field of pharmaceutics.

In fact, such an initiative was for the first time put forward almost 10 years ago, however, so far, its final approval has been prevented by protests of producers and analysts, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

Analysts argue that the beginning of sales of drugs in retail will not result in the reduction of price but, in contrast, lead to their growth in some market segments, particularly prescription drugs.