Russia's drug imports fall, lack of subsidies blamed

Russia's pharmaceutical imports have declined 17% to $2.2 billion in the first five months of 2007, according to official figures. The downturn is reportedly the first of its kind in a decade.

The drop in Russian drug imports can be explained by the government owing payments to importers under the country's supplementary drug guarantee scheme, as well as high levels of surplus stocks from last year still held by distributors. The guarantee program was initiated in 2005, but has suffered from low budgets. As a result, drug imports in 2006 were considerably above the government's allocation. The present budget of 34.9 billion rubles ($1.36 billion) is still below last year's required amount. However, the removal of 600 of the more expensive drugs from the program may help, observers note.