Russian government may stop foreign drugmakers from state tendering

The Russian government is considering imposing a ban on the participation of foreign drug producers in the tendering for public procurement of drugs in Russia, in the event that at least two similar drugs, produced by local manufacturers are present on the market. The move has been strongly criticized by leading multinationals operating in the country.

Such an initiative has been recently put forward by Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, in an attempt to support domestic drug producers during the tenders. At the same time, the latter have already had numerous preferences, such as the 15% benefit, which means that if the tender price of the Russian drug is up to 15% higher than the price offered by a foreign producer, preference is given to the domestic manufacturer.

The new measure is expected to be implemented as part of the state program for the development of the Russian pharma industry until 2018, which involves the production of up to 90% of socially important drugs within the country. The new measure also aims to encourage major global pharmaceutical producers to localize their production in Russia.