The head of the “Association of Independent Pharmacies”: there is almost no shortage of medicines in Russia, but there are interruptions in supplies

The current situation with the assortment in pharmacies is unlikely to change for the better, says Victoria Presnyakova, director of the Association of Independent Pharmacies and head of the Alliance of Pharmaceutical Associations. According to her, there is no shortage of drugs in Russian pharmacies now, but due to problems with logistics, there may be interruptions in the supply of some drugs.

“All that we now see in pharmacies is the situation that we, in fact, need to get used to, learn to live in new conditions, nothing will change in the near future,” Ms. Presnyakova stated. Supply disruptions are also likely to continue – pharmacies do not have their own warehouses, and they depend on supply chains, the expert explained.

At the same time, interruptions can be observed not only in the supply of foreign drugs, but also domestic ones: the delivery of not only the drug itself, but also substances and consumables is associated with logistics. In this regard, Ms. Presnyakova pointed to the situation in the Kaliningrad region, where there is a shortage of drugs even from the list of vital and essential drugs (VED). Problems with the transportation of drugs to Kaliningrad, according to the words, primarily affected thermolabile (changing properties under the influence of temperature) drugs, such as vaccines or immunoglobulins, the expert noted. According to her, during the pandemic, this situation was in remote regions, such as Khakassia and Yakutia, where it is “quite difficult and not always profitable” to transport medicines.

“As for the interchangeability of drugs that are now available – according to various sources, we are ready to replace 40 to 60% of the drugs, but this is not always realistic, since there is a global problem (deficit of some drugs. – Kommersant) and the logistical problem of importing to our country,” said Victoria Presnyakova. An example of a global shortage, according to her, is the situation when China, against the backdrop of an increase in the incidence of coronavirus at the end of 2022, decided to suspend the export of paracetamol.

The drop in the number of drugs sold in pharmacies was mentioned in the DSM Group report, presented in February. The assortment was affected by a reduction in the representation of imported drugs, the refusal to produce unprofitable drugs and a decrease in demand. At the same time, pharmacies did not expect a shortage of drugs due to the presence of local analogues of imported drugs.

More details – in the material “Kommersant”Pharmacies are losing medicines“.