IN 2021 FAS HELPED CHARITABLE FUND TO REDUCE THE COST OF BOUGHT MEDICINES BY 33%

For almost a year, the FAS Russia has been assisting the fund in negotiations with suppliers of medicines for children with serious illnesses.

The experience of the competition authority in negotiations with pharmaceutical companies on pricing for orphan medicines within the framework of the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation and the activities of the Good Circle fund* was discussed at the Expert Council of the FAS Russia on the development of competition in the commodity markets of medicines and dietary supplements.

Thus, in 2021 the authority participated in the negotiations of the Good Circle Fund with pharmaceutical manufacturers for the purchase of 20 unregistered medicines in Russia. According to the results of the negotiation process, the price reduction for 10 of them reached an average of 33% relative to the prices proposed by pharmaceutical companies and up to 61% relative to the prices that were in effect earlier.

The FAS Russia initiated a dialogue between the experts of the council, the Good Circle Fund, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and representatives of pharmaceutical companies to discuss options for further optimization of the negotiation process. The participants of the Expert Council compared the foreign and Russian experience of conducting negotiations on the issue of pricing for medicines.

Questions were raised regarding the evaluation criteria for setting prices as well as the need for regulatory legal regulation of negotiations. The members of the Expert Council came to the decision that in the case of additional regulation and formalization of the negotiation process, the fund is unlikely to achieve such positive results. The status of a legal entity allows Good Circle Fund to conduct negotiations within the framework of civil legislation, which makes them more flexible, and provides for the possibility of introducing additional conditions into the standard contract. Regulatory regulation of the negotiation process will place it in a certain framework, which will make it less flexible.

Reference:

* The Good Circle Fund was established by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation № 16 of 05.01.2021 to support children with severe life-threatening and chronic, including rare diseases. The work of the foundation allows, in particular, to purchase expensive medicine for such children that have not yet been registered in the Russian Federation.