FAS IS IN FAVOR OF PROMPT MEASURES TO ELIMINATE SHORTAGE OF INEXPENSIVE LIFE-SAVING MEDICINES

The Antimonopoly Authority offers a number of mechanisms aimed at preventing the withdrawal from the market of inexpensive life-saving medicine, the prices of which were registered in 2010

In order to solve the problem of unprofitable production of inexpensive medicine that are included in the list of life-saving medicine* and whose prices were registered in 2010, the FAS Russia together with the Russian Ministry of Health developed a draft resolution to prevent the withdrawal of such medicine from the Russian pharmaceutical market and, thereby, ensure their availability to patients.

The FAS Russia shares the position of cancer patient organizations on the need to take prompt measures to eliminate the shortage of life-saving medicine. To solve the problem, the Antimonopoly Authority, for its part, proposes further centralization of purchases, clarification of the rules for forming the initial maximum contract price, as well as the abolition of the ”third wheel” rule for vital medicine with a risk of shortage.

The FAS Russia has always been a consistent advocate of centralizing procurement, especially since the Law on the contract system provides for this possibility. The Antimonopoly Authority also sees the promotion of long-term contracts as an additional guarantee that would allow patients to ensure stable access to purchased medicines.

In summer 2020, the FAS Russia promptly agreed to withdraw from the “third wheel” rule a number of cancer medicine that were in short supply.

In addition, according to the FAS Russia, in order for the formation of the initial maximum contract price to be effective and not lead to the risk of failure of auctions, the prices used in its calculation should be verified, stable and, most importantly, should be applied to medicine that are actually traded on the pharmaceutical market.

*The list of vital and essential medical products