Russia in New Price-Cutting Reforms

Russian drug regulator Roszdravnadzor has outlined a further change to public drug procurement structures, eliminating the requirement to print price details on pharmaceuticals packets supplied by authorised organisations, many of which work under a commission agreement.

The new regulation, which also removes some of the regulatory burden on registration certificates, would appear to allow authorities even greater leverage to renegotiate price terms with drug distributors active in the country's recently expanded social welfare schemes. The move also comes just months after authorities moved to channel state subsidies directly from regional insurance funds to drug suppliers. Under earlier arrangements, the state's contribution passed to the insurers, adding a further link in the reimbursement chain.

Russia's government has clearly had some success in driving down the cost of healthcare and expanding provision. Officials recently announced that they would target an 86% reduction in the cost of HIV/AIDS drugs, which has already fallen from roughly US$10,000 per capita to US$3,000 in the last few years.