Pig farmers warn of rising vaccine prices in Russia due to new regulation

Prices for veterinary drugs and vaccines used by Russian pig breeders may rise due to new drug registration rules.

Amendments to the law "On the Circulation of Medicines", which establish the rules for the registration of veterinary drugs and vaccines, will come into force on September 1. According to them, foreign manufacturers will have to undergo an inspection of their production sites and obtain a GMP certificate (Good Manufacturing Practice, an international certificate confirming that good manufacturing practices are applied at the enterprise). In 60% of cases , ROSSELKHOZNADZOR refuses to issue certificates, Vedomosti writes, citing a representative of the Association of Veterinary Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (AVFARM).

According to the association's estimates, out of 26 vaccines supplied to RUSSIA to prevent swine diseases, 11 will remain available from September 1. This may lead to a decrease in the availability of drugs and an increase in prices for them, pig breeders interviewed by the newspaper believe. In addition, in addition to supply reduction, the ruble exchange rate may affect the rise in prices, said a representative of ABH Miratorg.

A number of foreign producers will not have time to go through the GMP confirmation procedure, Russian companies will not be able to quickly compensate for the shortage of drugs, which in the worst case will cause interruptions in the implementation of MEAT production plans, Nikolay Bespalov, RNC Pharma Development DIRECTOR, warns . Banfor the import of vaccines that are critical and have no analogues in Russia may ultimately increase the cost of meat production, says a representative of the Miratorg ABH. The owner of the Lazarevskoye farm, Kristina Romanovskaya, notes that the problem with vaccines already exists, since a number of foreign-made drugs have disappeared from the market.

In 2021, when the amendments on the registration of vaccines were adopted, the National Union of Pig Breeders and the National Meat Organization indicated in their appeal to the State Duma Committee on HEALTH Protection that an increase in the number of vaccine suppliers in the pig breeding market in 2014-2020 would reduce the cost of drugs by 218–307 %, and the reduction of importers will lead to higher prices. Both organizations declined to comment.

Rosselkhoznadzor said that talk about a possible shortage and rising prices for vaccines is “an artificially created informational reason for destabilizing the situation in the Russian livestock and veterinary market by some foreign producers from“ unfriendly ”countries who refuse to comply with the requirements of Russian legislation and through informational influence trying to change the regulations to suit their interests.” The service stated that Russia produces a full range of immunobiological preparations for pigs in the volume necessary for the market. Ministry of Agriculturereported that 60.7% of the registered 2222 veterinary medicinal products are of Russian origin. Manufacturers have had a two-year transition period to move to the new regulation, and the most sought-after foreign drugs have domestic counterparts, a spokesman for the agency said.