Demand for rare antibiotic to treat pneumonia skyrockets in pharmacies

In pharmacies, the demand for the rare antibiotic Fluimucil-Antibiotic it has increased significantly. There are fewer and fewer pharmacies where you can buy it, and the cost is growing.

"Fluimucin-Antibiotic IT" - a drug based on thiamphenicol - is used in the treatment of respiratory tract infections, laryngotracheitis, bronchitis and pneumonia. RBC called the largest pharmacies, the presence of thiamphenicol in which was listed in the certificate of the Chestny Znak labeling system, and also analyzed the websites of the largest players in the online drug market.

Thus, the Ave pharmacy reported that the drug was out of stock, and found it difficult to say when it would appear at the suppliers. The Neopharm network reported the availability of 71 packages in four different pharmacies of the network, but said that after ordering it is necessary to wait for confirmation of availability by SMS - in fact, the drug may not be available. A similar response was provided in the Capitals. In the pharmacies of the Megapteka.ru aggregator, the drug was available for order at 18 outlets. The Rigla pharmacy chain reported that there was only one package of the drug in the Moscow branch and Sergiev Posad, in ZdravCity (the online project of Proteka) the drug was available for booking only in 7 pharmacies in the Moscow region. It was not possible to order Fluimucil-Antibiotic IT on the websites 36.6, HEALTH Planet, Pharmacies 5+, Sber Eapteki and Apteki.ru (Katrena project).

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Dmitry Chirkov, co-founder and CEO of the Megapteka.ru aggregator (includes 25,000 pharmacy outlets in 78 regions of RUSSIA), says that in November, sales of Fluimucil-Antibiotic IT were three times more than in October, and for incomplete December - five times more than in October. Probably, its absence in pharmacies is due to increased demand, he concludes.

At the same time, the drug is usually ten times less in demand than, for example, Amoxiclav (amoxicillin + clavulanic acid), so thiamphenicol cannot be called popular. According to the rating of the top 50 brands of antibiotics presented by the aggregator for RBC for 11 months of this year, Fluimucil-Antibiotic IT was absent from it. The first places were occupied by brands based on amoxicillin, azithromycin and cefixime.

According to the statistics of Yandex search queries, which RBC got acquainted with, interest in Fluimucil-Antibiotic IT from Internet users began to grow (5.7 thousand queries) in mid-August and peaked in November (later data is still unavailable) - 20.5 thousand requests. In October, amid reports of a shortage of antibiotics based on amoxicillin and clavulanic acid, thiamphenicol was searched 13,000 times. Last year, the peak of requests for "Fluimucil-Antibiotic IT" fell on October - 11.8 thousand requests, and since then it has only fallen. In December 2020, users searched for this antibiotic 15.9 thousand times.

Anesthesiologist-resuscitator Sergey Kuzin told RBC that the drug is not in great demand in clinical practice, although it has a number of conveniences. “We have not observed its deficiency, but we do not use it often,” the DOCTOR concluded.

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The chairman of the regional public organization of the Moscow region "Help for patients with cystic fibrosis" Olga Alekina told RBC that thiamphenicol is sometimes used by specialized patients, according to indications and depending on the sensitivity of the flora. So far, patients have not experienced interruptions in its supply in state clinics, but for some time now they can purchase cystic fibrosis drugs in commercial pharmacies on their own and then receive compensation, which may have caused an increase in demand in commercial retail.

In the incomplete year 2022, 39,000 packs of Fluimucil-Antibiotic IT were purchased in the budget segment for 39.3 million rubles, in the past - 57,000 packs for 43.1 million rubles, calculated in the analytical agency Headway Company (specializes on the monitoring of public procurement of medicines) for RBC. Thus, its average price under government contracts increased by 33%. The minimum volume of deliveries for this year fell on November - 1344 packages. The largest supplier of the drug for the budget segment (10% of contracts) this year was FC Pulse. RBC sent a request to the company. For the ten months of this year, the volume of Fluimucil-Antibiotic IT put into circulation increased by 40 thousand packs, amounting to 796.8 thousand packs, according to the RNC Pharma analytical agency at the request of RBC. According to the same data, "Fluimucil-Antibiotic IT" has risen in price since March last year from 745 rubles. per package up to 944 rubles. (wholesale prices with VAT). AptekaMos.ru managed to find 66 pharmacies in the metropolitan region that uploaded data on the availability of the drug in the help desk of AptekaMos.ru. At the same time, the lowest price, according to the information from the capital, amounted to 798 rubles, the highest - 2500 rubles. (the drug is not included in the list of Vital and Essential Drugs, and its price is not regulated).

RBC's source among pharmaceutical retailers claims that distributors have not had the drug for a long time. Another source in the industry says that there is no shortage, but due to the political situation in the world, shipment times have been extended from weeks to months, against this background, he does not rule out attempts to "manipulate the market." Alexander Kuzin, CEO of the 36.6 pharmacy chain, also agrees that we are not talking about a shortage. Most likely, the matter is a combination of rush demand on the wave of SARS incidence with extended delivery times for distributors, the top manager explains the situation. Market players interviewed by RBC say that there is no talk of stopping the commercial activities of Zambon (produces the Fluimucil line and other drugs) in Russia: in January-October of this year, supplies of products increased, with the exception of the branded ibuprofen "Faspic" (until October of this year it was not supplied) and the drug based on the blueberry extract "Mirtilene Forte" (908 packs were supplied less year on year), also follows from the data of RNC Pharma. The company did not respond to RBC's request.