Equipment for cancer clinics is delivered to Russia with a delay

Although in general the medical industry in Russia was not subject to Western sanctions, difficulties arose in the supply of equipment. As Kommersant found out, the American Varian, from which Truebeam linear accelerators used in radiation therapy are purchased for Russian oncology clinics, is now forced to obtain an export license from the US authorities, which takes at least three months. This has already led to a disruption in the supply of equipment totaling 1.5 billion rubles. The situation also threatens problems with components for the production of Halcyon accelerators, assembled in the Russian Federation at the facilities of R-Pharm.

As Kommersant discovered in the government procurement register, five contracts totaling 1.39 billion rubles, concluded in April-May 2022 with the American Varian, for the supply of Truebeam linear accelerators for radiation therapy equipment to Russian cancer clinics, still remain unfulfilled. although the last shipment was due to arrive in January 2023. For failure to meet deadlines, customers imposed penalties on suppliers: Newmedtech – 44.4 million rubles. for two contracts, “Rentality” – 8.6 million rubles.

The only contract concluded in 2023 with Varian with a delivery date until the end of this year has also not yet been fulfilled. In general, under all contracts concluded since the end of 2021, only two Truebeam accelerators were imported into the Russian Federation, as follows from information from the government procurement website. In addition, RTT Factory, part of Alexey Repik’s R-Pharm, by agreement with Varian, terminated one of the contracts for 202.2 million rubles. for the supply of Truebeam due to the occurrence of “circumstances beyond the control of the parties resulting in the impossibility of fulfilling the contract.”

The Russian representative office of the German Siemens Healthineers, which includes Varian, did not respond to Kommersant’s request. Rentality CEO Sergei Gavrilov explained to Kommersant that in 2022, Varian at the global level was faced with the problem of the availability of semiconductors for its products, which is why disruptions in the supply of accelerators were observed around the world. Newmedtech says that in May 2023 the problem was solved, but at that time linear accelerators were included in the US restrictive list and now an export license is required for their import into the Russian Federation. To obtain it, Varian needs at least three months, they say in Rentality and Newmedtech. In addition, difficulties were added due to the disruption of supply chains, adds Sergei Gavrilov.

Now accelerators have been imported to Russia under many contracts, according to representatives of suppliers. At the National Medical Research Center named after. N.I. Pirogov and equipment is being installed in the Saratov region, says Sergei Gavrilov. The RTT Factory promises to soon deliver Truebeam to the oncology clinic in Omsk. These changes are not yet reflected in government contracts.

At the National Medical Research Center named after. N.N. Petrova and the Vladimir Regional Oncology Center confirmed the delivery of accelerators. In Vladimir, the contract is scheduled to be completed in January 2024. The regional cancer clinic adds that the consequences of the delay are “completely offset by the increased load on the two existing radiation therapy systems.” At the National Medical Research Center named after. N.N. Petrova says that three accelerators are already operating at the center, including Truebeam.

However, an export license is now required for all equipment with a share of US technology of more than 25%, and this is not only Truebeam, but also Halcyon, another accelerator from Varian, says Sergey Gavrilov. Halcyon equipment is assembled at the RTT Factory site. They did not comment on the delivery time of components for Halcyon. According to the government procurement website, all 11 contracts for the supply of Halcyon concluded since the beginning of 2022 are considered completed.

In addition to Varian, accelerators from the Swedish-British Elekta are supplied to the Russian Federation. In addition, in April 2023, Varimed-service registered the first Chinese accelerator from Shinva Medical Instrument in the Russian Federation. Rusatom Healthcare, as the company told Kommersant, plans to begin sales of its Onyx accelerator in 2024. Although most of these components were imported to Russia, due to restrictions on their supply from the United States, according to Kommersant’s interlocutor in the industry, oncological dispensaries may in the future have problems with the further development of infrastructure for radiation therapy.

Polina Gritsenko