Russians were warned about the possible rise in drug prices by 15-20%.
Drugs in the Russian Federation may go up by 15-20% due to the restriction of marketing bonuses of pharmacies, Vedomosti reported, citing the Alliance of Pharmaceutical Associations.
In early May, the deputies of the Just Russia proposed to limit the fees for services for promotion of medicines in the pharmacy chains. They explained that in some cases marketing bonuses received by pharmacists for selling products of a particular manufacturer are up to 30% of the sales of the drug.
Party head Sergey Mironov said that limiting promotional bonuses to 5% will lead to lower prices, because it is the high amount of marketing fees will lead to higher prices for medicines. As an example, lawmakers cited grocery chains, where such a measure is already in force.
Consideration of this idea is planned for the autumn session in October 2023.
Market representatives warned that the new restrictive measures would reduce profits. This will lead to higher prices for drugs not included in the list of vital and essential drugs (VED), or to the closure of pharmacies.
Currently, the profitability of pharmacies by 50-60% depends on marketing budgets, said Nikolai Bespalov, development director of RNC Pharma. Due to such bonuses it is possible to restrain the increase in prices for customers, said a representative of "Pharmacy 25".
In addition, the risk area will be pharmacies in remote and sparsely populated areas, which will not be able to cover the cost of delivery of medicines, explained the Association of Independent Pharmacies.