REMEDIUM

January state Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova announced the launch of pilot projects on risk sharing with the participation of four drugs in Moscow, the Moscow region and the Kaluga region at the Gaidar Forum. During 2017, these projects have not been launched. FAS made a statement л against these projects as it considered that no adequate legal mechanisms were developed to implement the pilot projects. FAS also believes that the risk-sharing system can not be used for drugs that lost the patent protection, have any registered analogues, are included in the VED list (one of the drugs included in the pilot project did not meet these requirements). • Russia FAS published a report on the results of the second stage of the comparative analysis of prices for drugs for the treatment of HIV, hepatitis B and C, as well as antibacterial and anti-tuberculosis drugs used to treat patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. The registered marginal manufacturer prices for 95 items were higher in Russia than in some reference countries. The second stage results led to a drop in prices for 266 items, which was, among other things, the consequence and voluntary initiative of the companies. Earlier, the registration prices for 112 drugs were reduced as a result of the first stage of price monitoring, which affected the Seven Nosologies Program and ended in 2016.

According to the Rosstat's preliminary data, the resident population of Russia amounted to 146.9 mil. as of January 1, 2018 (Table 1). In January-December 2017, the population increased by 76.0 th. or by 0.05% (by 259.7 th. people, or 0.2% for the same period last year).

In 2017, the Russian companies continued to expand their shares in the domestic market: the share of sales of domestic pharmaceutical drugs was about 62% in physical terms and 30% in value terms. The sales growth was mainly provided by the state purchases. The industry showed a high level of investment activity with widely used signing of the special investment contracts.

According to IQVIA13, the total budget segment14 exclusive of federal and regional subsidized drug coverage programs amounted to 748.6 mil. packs or RUB 186.1 bil. (USD 3.2 bil.) at wholesale prices in 2017 (Figure 1). In 2017, the budget purchases in physical and value terms increased by 20 %, in dollar terms by 35%. In the previous year, there was a negative dynamics.

According to the IQVIA database, the volume of purchases1 under the regional reimbursement programs (without mixed trades) amounted to 66.5 mil. packs totaling to RUB 55.7 bil., or USD 1.2 bil in 2017. As compared to the previous year, purchases increased by 31% in physical terms and by 28% in terms of national currency (by 47% in terms of dollars) (Figure 1).

The results of the implementation of the import substitution program as one of the key strategic priorities of the country are particularly noticeable in the public procurement segment. The 2016 trend towards an increased consumption of drugs produced in the Russian Federation persisted in 2017. The drugs became more accessible for patients as a result of state support for import substitution.

The high prevalence of neurological diseases, primarily ischemic stroke and cognitive impairments, dictate the need for a rational choice of the most effective drugs. It was previously thought that vasoactive drugs are of the greatest importance for the recovery of brain functions, now the emphasis is shifted towards neuroprotective and neurotrophic agents. One such an example is Cerebrolysin® (EVER Neuro Pharma, Austria) resulting from extracting the peptide fraction of the young pigs brain [1]. This brand is well known to a wide range of Russian clinicians, primarily neurologists and psychiatrists [2]. However, even those health professionals who are already familiar with the drug should look at it again: Cerebrolysin® is currently enjoying a new lease on life.

The economic integration processes in the post-Soviet space can only be welcomed. However, the formation of the Customs Union led to the abolition of customs control on the actual borders of the countries participating in the EEU, and thus deprived the pharmaceutical market of publicly available statistics on the transfer of drugs between our countries. Meanwhile, the turnover in this direction is quite high: only in 2017, the drugs produced in the EEU countries that were imported to Russia totaled to about RUB 8.4 bil. (at wholesale prices), moreover, the cash volume of such supplies shows a fairly confident positive dynamics.

The BAA pharmacy market has changed significantly over the past few years. First of all, the consumption pattern has changed. The most popular are the average price BAAs in such groups as vitamins, soothing, laxatives, sedative agents, medium-priced teas. But previously popular BAAs such as weight loss drugs, men's health drugs saw a significant drop in sales.

Since 2007, PwC has been conducting a Digital IQ study that provides information on how companies in the medical and pharmaceutical industries benefit from technology and what role they assign to technology in the digital strategy transformation. The study involves the companies from all over the world. Recently, the tenth jubilee edition has been released, presenting the results of a survey of the heads of IT services and business units. In this article, we will present the main findings of the latest Digital IQ study.

After having analyzed 110 th. vacancies and more than 135 th. CVs in the medical and pharmaceutical industry specifically for Remedium Group in Moscow for the period from January 1, 2013 to March 15, 2018, the Research Service of HeadHunter revealed the main trends in this labor market.

The past year exploded with important news from Sotex. First, the purchase of the largest pharmaceutical complex Rafarma JSC by Protek Group. Then, reports on the successful entry into the EU market, the participation of the Russian manufacturer in the key industry events of the European pharmaceutical industry, and the announcement of large-scale international expansion plans. And at the same time, active operations on localization of foreign manufacture on the territory of Russia, competent alignment of the partner relations with the largest players of the world pharma. Our questions about the development strategy of the company were answered by Vadim Yatsuk, Director General, Sotex PharmFirm CJSC.

Globally, an estimated 422 mil. adults are living with diabetes mellitus, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO). [1]. In Russia, the number of patients reached 4.3 mil. in 2016, and their number has increased by 2.3 mil. over the past 15 years [2]. Improving the quality of diagnosis [1] and self-monitoring of this disease is one of the key measures in the fight against diabetes. Therefore, glucometers and test strips remain the most important category among the pharmacy products.