Analysts announced a drop in drug production in Russia by almost 10%

The production of medicines in RUSSIA in physical terms for the first five months of 2021 decreased by 9.2%. This is reported by Vedomosti, referring to a study by the analytical company RNC Pharma.

From January to May, domestic pharmaceutical companies produced 1.7 billion packs. This is the worst figure since 2018, when 1.6 billion packs were produced in the same period. In 2019 and 2020, growth was observed in this area.

At the same time, analysts note that, in monetary terms, shipments of drug manufacturers, on the contrary, increased by 25.9% and amounted to 239.1 billion rubles in the first five months. This is the best result since 2014. In 2020, over the same period, companies shipped drugs worth 189.8 billion rubles.

The decline in production affected primarily non-prescription drugs, shipments of which fell by 16%. The volume of production of prescription drugs decreased by only 1%.

According to Andrey Gorshkov, Chief Executive Officer of Ozon Pharmaceuticals, this trend is due to a change in the behavior of consumers: due to falling incomes, they no longer buy drugs from the low price segment in large quantities, but prefer more expensive analogues. Thus, the number of drugs sold decreases, and revenue grows.

Gorshkov noted that from January to May, Ozon Pharmaceuticals sold 27% more drugs worth 300-400 rubles.

Another reason for the increased profit against the background of a decrease in production in physical terms was an increase in the production of drugs sold through public procurement, says Nikolay Bespalov, RNC Pharma Development DIRECTOR.

When conducting tenders, customers prefer Russian generics, which are cheaper than foreign drugs. However, at the auction, these drugs are more expensive than in pharmacies.

The day before, experts from the Headway Company calculated that public procurement of drugs for CORONAVIRUS, which are in the recommendations of the Ministry of HEALTH, quadrupled from December 2020 to May 2021 compared to the figures at the beginning of the pandemic.

Against the backdrop of the spread of covid-19 in Russia in 2021, sales of the most popular remedies for SARS and gastrointestinal disorders decreased by 226 and 17%, respectively. Last year, experts reported that the frequency of gastrointestinal disorders and SARS had decreased - this was due to the fact that people began to wash their hands more often against the backdrop of the fight against coronavirus, and more actively take anti-influenza drugs as a preventive measure.