Timophey Nizhegorodtsev presented Russian experience on reducing medicinal drug prices
Price reduction on average was 50% for 451 positions of expensive vital and essential medicinal drugs.
Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade, Timophey Nizhegorodtsev presented experience of Russian antimonopoly body on reducing medicinal drug prices at the 47th session of the Interstate Council on Antimonopoly Policy of the CIS Member-States (ICAP).
FAS conducted an international comparative survey of prices for expensive vital and essential drugs.
The comparative survey covered three groups of drugs, for which Russia spends most funds. Prices from 43 countries were taken, of which more than 20 were the reference countries, and the decisions to reduce prices in Russia were made on their basis.
The findings proved that, on the one hand, price depreciation led to around 100 drug positions in Russia being cheaper than in other countries. Some drugs, however, were significantly more expensive than in the reference countries.
Russia has a List of vital and essential drugs that all hospitals take as the procurement basis. To get on the list is rather difficult; companies must prepare an extended set of documents and register their price.
Describing FAS efforts to reduce prices, Timophey Nizhegorodtsev pointed outthat to prevent shortage FAS did not apply tough measures and abolish price registration. Instead the companies were asked to reduce prices voluntarily.
“Eventually, the companies accommodated our request. None of them managed to overthrow our arguments corroborated with the comparative market analysis”, said the speaker. “Price reduction on average was 50% for 451 positions of expensive vital and essential medicinal drugs. It gave a significant economic effect in the health care system. Already in the first year the savings in procurement by the Ministry of Health reached more than 5 billion RUB”.
Timophey Nizhegorodtsev formulated some recommendations and proposals on price registration that participants can find useful in their practical work.