Picture of the day: digest of the main news from June 20, 2025
Main
#1 The State Duma Committee on Health Protection did not support the resonant bill from the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory on the gradual transfer of funding for the purchase of a number of tablet drugs from the regional budgeting system to the compulsory medical insurance system. Regional deputies planned to solve the problem of a shortage of funds for preferential outpatient oncology therapy, but the project was not approved by either the government or the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. At the last meeting of the Duma committee, First Deputy Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Vladimir Zelensky said that "shifting" financial responsibility from the regions to the compulsory medical insurance system will not solve the problem of insufficient activity of the subjects in the purchase of oncology drugs. Firstly, he said, there are no additional funds in the FFOMS budget for such a serious initiative, and secondly, an attempt to further burden the compulsory medical insurance system will lead to an increase in the costs of the regions themselves due to an increase in contributions for the non-working population. Read more about the discussion at the link .
#2 The Russian Government has adjusted the Rules for the Import of Medicines for Medical Use into the Country; in particular, manufacturers of medical devices will now be allowed to import drugs for the purpose of producing certain goods. In addition, the new version of the regulations sets out the justifications for determining the quantity of imported drugs and pharmaceutical substances, as well as for the registration and examination of drugs intended for circulation in Russia or on the common market of the EAEU and for state registration. The inclusion of pharmaceutical substances in the State Register of Medicines will be justified based on the need for the drug when conducting a comparative in vitro dissolution kinetics test. The resolution will be valid until September 1, 2027.
Regulators
The Russian Government has updated the Rules for Providing Medical Organizations Participating in Immunoprophylaxis under the National Calendar of Preventive Immunizations. The key innovations are: participation of the Russian Ministry of Health in informing the Federal Medical and Biological Agency and organizations about upcoming purchases; new deadlines for informing clinics; a specific procedure for actions when identifying drugs in the regions, the volume of which meets the need for them for less than 60 days.
Patent disputes
The Intellectual Property Court upheld the complaint of MIK LLC and overturned the decision of Rospatent from November 2023. At that time, the service refused, at the company's request, to terminate the validity of Eurasian patent No. 39280 in the Russian Federation, protecting the rights of the American Vertex Pharmaceuticals to the substance elexacaftor, which is part of the composition of the drug for the treatment of cystic fibrosis Trikafta (ivacaftor + tezacaftor + elexacaftor and ivacaftor). In 2023, MIK, which planned to supply the Argentine generic of the drug, Trilexa, to the domestic market, was able to obtain a compulsory license for inventions under 10 of the 12 patents protecting the original Trikafta through the court.
Pharmaceutical business
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Ozon Pharmaceuticals reported raising 2.8 billion rubles from more than 14,000 investors during a secondary public offering of ordinary shares (SPO). A total of 65.9 million shares were sold. The company plans to use the funds received to implement a "strategy for sustainable and profitable growth." The SPO was held on the Moscow Exchange at a price of 42 rubles per share.
Medical education
The Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and the First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov signed an agreement at SPIEF-2025 to launch a joint master's program in Healthcare Economics and Finance. Admission is expected this year, and the program will be headed by First Deputy Minister of Healthcare of the Russian Federation Vladimir Zelensky. Graduates will receive two diplomas and will subsequently be able to work as analysts, financial managers, consultants for insurance companies, and managers in medical organizations.
Sankur market
At the SPIEF-2025, the Kaliningrad Region Government signed an agreement with the Kortros Group of Companies on the construction of a multifunctional health resort and hotel complex with an area of over 30 thousand square meters in Svetlogorsk by 2032. The parties estimated the investment in the construction of the facility at 20 billion rubles. It is planned that the health resort will offer a full range of modern medical and health and hotel services for family vacations.
International agenda
The European Union (EU) will restrict access to its public procurement for Chinese manufacturers of medical equipment worth more than 5 million euros. EU member states voted to support the plan to adopt the measures in early June 2025. The restrictions were prompted by the European Commission's investigation into "direct and indirect discrimination" against medical devices and suppliers from the EU on the Chinese market. Vademecum's review discusses how Chinese state programs to support domestic manufacturers became a pretext for the European Union to restrict its market for them.
Other news:
The Ministry of Health commented on the application of the new OKVED code for pharmacies
The Federal Tax Service will gain access to the drug flow monitoring system
Bashkir State Medical University and Italian Clinic Create Joint Urology Training Center
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