Slimming drug sales up 20.3% in the first half of 2023
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The departure from the Russian market of well-known weight-reducing drugs has had an unexpected result. In an attempt to find a replacement for the tried-and-tested means, citizens raised sales of weight loss drugs by 20.3% in six months in kind and by 15.5% in money terms. Inexpensive medicines that need to be consumed in large volumes turned out to be in use, which caused an increase in consumption, experts say.
Sales of drugs taken for weight loss in the first half of 2023 in physical terms increased by 20.3%, to 1.5 million packs, and in money terms increased by 15.5%, to 4.2 billion rubles. year on year, calculated by the DSM Group. According to the company’s analysts, 44% of cash sales of such medicines come from Reduxin, and 33% from Goldline. Both drugs contain sibutramine, which creates a feeling of false satiety, including in combination with the hypoglycemic agent metformin. And drugs such as Listata, Orsoten, Xenical and Xenalten contain the lipase inhibitor orlistat, which disrupts the breakdown of dietary fats and reduces their absorption from the gastrointestinal tract.
Slimming drugs, mostly prescription drugs, not included in the list of vital and essential drugs (VED) in Russia. More than 99% of sales come from pharmacies, according to DSM Group. The Headway Company clarifies that in January-July 2023, tender purchases of such drugs for 15 million rubles were carried out, of which 98.5% were purchases of pharmacies and pharmacy warehouses related to retail trade.
Pharmacy chain “36.6” confirmed the growth in sales of drugs for the treatment of obesity. In the first seven months of 2023, online sales of such drugs grew by 7.4% year-on-year, with the highest growth observed in May, April and June. Zdravcity, Neo Pharm, Planet Health, Rigla, Erkapharm and April did not answer Kommersant’s questions.
The demand for weight loss drugs is increasing due to the increasing urgency of the problem of obesity in Russia and in the world due to an increase in the consumption of fast carbohydrates, refined fats, and a decrease in physical activity, says Anna Barteneva, an endocrinologist and leading specialist at the Nearmedic clinic in Moscow.
Nikolai Bespalov, RNC Pharma Development Director, attributes the growth in demand for such funds to seasonality, including the low base of 2022, when people were occupied with other issues.
According to Mr. Bespalov, demand is also shifting towards combined drugs, which contain components for both diabetes and weight loss, in particular, analogues of the glucagon-like peptide, such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempik and Saxenda. Deliveries of the latter in 2022 to Russia have actually stopped.
Kommersant’s source in pharmacy chains says that the “last normal delivery” of Ozempik and Saxenda from Novo Nordisk to Russia was in March 2022, and subsequently the manufacturer announced its withdrawal from the market.
Tatyana Kovalchuk, AlphaRM Deputy CEO, says that the excitement around Saxenda was created by the Novo Nordisk program, which provides discounts for drugs with liraglutide, which ended in 2022. Of all these drugs, only Saxenda was allowed in Russia to reduce body weight, emphasizes Anastasia Zolotykh, an endocrinologist at the Doctis telemedicine service. There are no such indications in the instructions for Ozempic, it is prescribed only for patients with diabetes, but often those who want to lose weight “prescribe” it themselves, she says.
According to Nikolai Bespalov, now consumers are starting to return to the usual drugs based on sibutramine and orlistat, which are less effective, and their consumption volumes are higher than analogues of the glucagon-like peptide. This stimulates the growth of in-kind sales, while the turnover in money grows at a slower pace due to the relatively low average price, he says.
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