Stocks of imported veterinary drugs will be enough for livestock farmers for two to three months - AVFARM

“According to experts in the Russian livestock industry, some will run out of foreign veterinary drugs in two to three months, while others will run out before the end of the year,” the speaker emphasized.

Meanwhile, without “good pharma”, investment in livestock farming is practically impossible. Despite the fact that veterinary drugs account for at best 3%, and more often 1-2%, in the cost of livestock products, if they are absent or used incorrectly, you can simply lose the entire livestock.

Replacing high-tech imported drugs that work for marginal agriculture takes decades. India and China , which are often cited as countries that could “replace everything,” still import 30-35% of pharmaceutical products for their countries’ livestock industries.

Semyon Zhavoronkov believes that Russia is 100% provided with domestic pharmaceuticals for particularly dangerous animal diseases. The situation is also good with chemical and pharmaceutical drugs, which are imported into the country in large quantities and continue to be produced by domestic players in the pharmaceutical market. However, with vaccines against economically significant diseases in the Russian Federation, everything is much worse: in some segments, import dependence reaches 90-95%.

Today, the market ratio of the main categories of drugs is as follows: 35% - import of vaccines from the commercial segment, 28% - import of chemical pharmaceuticals, 25% - domestic production of chemical pharmaceuticals and only 4% - domestic production of vaccines from the commercial segment.

Semyon Zhavoronkov provided statistics on the availability of foreign-made veterinary drugs in the Russian Federation. According to him, 423 foreign vaccines and 1,376 foreign chemicals, 452 vaccines and 3,075 chemicals produced in Russia and Belarus are registered on the EAEU site.

“But if we look at the new requirements for introduction into civilian circulation, we will find that there are only 12 imported vaccines and 27 chemicals left on the market. There are also 127 domestic vaccines on the market, many of which relate to especially dangerous diseases with which the Russian Federation is endowed, and 991 chemicals,” added Semyon Zhavoronkov.

The expert said that the situation with obtaining GMP registration by foreign sites is as follows: the association has an average of 60-70% refusals. They concern companies from friendly and unfriendly countries trying to pass inspection in the Russian Federation, and the statistics for friendly countries are much worse. This applies to pharmaceutical companies from China , India, etc.

“In general, Brazil, in my opinion, passed registration the eighth time, and only one plant. Recently, excellent Uruguayan vaccines were unable to reach the Russian market. As a result, livestock farmers are trying to independently find ways to purchase drugs,” stated Semyon Zhavoronkov.

He said that the association continues to work to ensure that companies undergo GMP inspection: 6 out of 9 applications are in progress (two pharmaceutical sites from the USA , one from Brazil and 6 from Europe).

The expert expressed hope that some of these sites will start successfully, because imported vaccines for the livestock industry, including for cattle , are very much needed in the Russian Federation.

“The September 1 crisis could not be overcome. And we, for our part, must warn that even in the case of successful scenarios, the resumption of supplies will take a year and a half. In reality, the delivery date is 2025,” summarized Semyon Zhavoronkov.