ANDREY TSYGANOV: STATE REGULATION IN HEALTHCARE IS BECOMING VITAL

Deputy Head of FAS shared experience of the Russian Federation in competition development on the markets of medicine and medical products attending an event in Minsk

On 13 November 2019, Deputy Head of FAS Andrey Tsyganov took part in the discussion session on “Healthcare market: access and accessibility” during an International Conference in Minsk (Belarus) – “Developing competition on sectoral markets: theoretical and practical aspects”.

“Pharmaceutical companies typically are rather tough competitors with each other and tough opponents to national regulators. It is quite understandable because medicines and medical equipment are indispensable in our life. This creates a distorted market picture and state regulation is aimed at correcting it, particularly, through antimonopoly enforcement and development of correct market conduct rules”, started his speech Deputy Head of FAS.

Andrey Tsyganov reminded of strategic documents adopted in Russia - the National Competition Development Plan and the Road Map for developing competition in the healthcare sectors that regulated this field.

“The Road Map focus on how better register medicines, set and regulate prices for vital and essential medicine, correctly exercise public and municipal procurement of medicinal drugs. Drafting these documents became possible after FAS together with the antimonopoly authorities of the CIS states carried out a detailed study of the pharmaceutical market. It created a clear understanding as to what must be done on the market, which issues deserve serious discussions with pharmaceutical companies and the authorities, and how the desired results can be achieved”, explained Andrey Tsyganov.

The speaker pointed out that new rules and methods of registering and re-registering medicines from the List of vital and essential medicine are in effect in Russia, as well as bans and restrictions for ordering parties to give therapeutically insignificant characteristics on descriptions of drugs to be purchased for public and municipal needs. Efforts are being undertaken to standardize all characteristics of medicines in an Integrated Reference Book - Catalogue of medicine. A draft law on drug substitutability has been submitted to the State Duma for consideration. Amendments on forced licensing are drafted to be added to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

“It concerns permits to produce vital medicines in the Russian Federation that manufacturers for some reasons refuse to distribute in Russia. It is a serious problem that for reasons beyond control of FAS and manufacturers supplies of such drugs can suddenly terminate. This cannot be allowed”, stated Deputy Head of FAS.

Andrey Tsyganov also highlighted problems that exist on the markets of medical products in Russia: restricting use of alternative equivalent expendables, absence of instructions and technical specifications of medical products in open sources, customers not having passwords and access codes for entry administrative mode for maintenance of medical products; and some others.

To solve the problems, work is undertaken on provisions of a catalogue of goods, works, services for public and municipal needs that purpose of which is unified and consistent description of procurement objects included in procurement documentation.

“We will achieve catalogue description of the main types of medical products to make sure they are described correctly for the purposes of public procurement  to avoid abuses by both bidding process organizers and suppliers”, promised the speaker.

Absence of transparent distribution of medical care among medical facilities operating under the mandatory medical insurance programme also leads to some types of violations.

“FAS and its regional Offices use the institution of warnings and admonitions to correct the scope of the medical aid allocated among participants of the market of medical services included in the government guarantees programme, to ensure equal conditions of competition”, specifiedAndrey Tsyganov.

Deputy Minister of Belarus for Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, Andrey Kartun; Deputy Head of the Social Sphere and Consumer Services Department, of Belarus Ministry for Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, Natalia Vasilevskaya;  Romanian Competition Council, Councilor Cosmin Belacurencu; Deputy Director of the Department for Research and Investigation of Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical and Retail Markets, Ukrainian Antimonopoly Committee, Angelina Izotova; an expert of the World Bank Group, Head of AJ-Competition Advisory, Deputy Director of the Antimonopoly and Normative Research Centre, Warsaw University, Adam Jasser; Director of the Antimonopoly Regulation Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Alexei Sushkevich; Executive Partner, “Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev & Partners” Law Offices, Denis Turovets; and Head of Austrian Federal Competition Authority Theodor Tanner attended the session.