Current issue #14, 2015

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Rising from the archives

Deputies resumed discussion on a narcotics propaganda regulation

After making it a criminal offence to circulate counterfeit drugs and starting two case-and-preventive criminal proceedings on this issue the State Duma cast their minds back to Irina Yarovaya’s long-standing initiative to prohibit propaganda of narcotic drugs. Having dusted off the document, which extends the very concept of “propaganda” and provides for criminal liability for this kind of activities, the deputies decided to open doors for it and approved it in the first reading. Experts remark that if this draft law is voted finally as is, even mentioning a narcotic drug may entail a criminal procedure.

[pages 1,3 of #14, 21/04/2015]

Pharmacy burden

The number of audits puzzles pharmacy businesses

Representatives of pharmacy businesses report a growing number of audits both by the relevant state authorities and prosecution agencies. The participants of the SoyuzPharma Pharmacy Association conference held on April 10 pointed out that this trend contradicts to what President of the Russian Federation declared in his State of the Nation Address regarding a rundown of activities to control small and medium-sized businesses.

[page 2 of #14, 21/04/2015]

Change of labeling

Pharma market players discussed prospects of implementing 2D drug labeling

Several Russian pharmaceutical companies are running pilot projects on implementing 2D labeling of their products. Is this rollout economically feasible? What is the foreign experience in this sphere? These questions were the center of discussion by the participants of the 7^th conference “The State Regulation and the Russian Pharmaceutical Industry—2015: the dialog continued” that was hosted on April 1 in Moscow.

[page 4 of #14, 21/04/2015]

Chance to be treated domestically

State Corporation Rostech to probe medical services market

The state corporation decided to start implementing its plans from e-services. Its new company, National IT Penetration Center Ltd. (NTsI), explores the opportunities of making money in the e-commerce market, including that medicine-related. Besides, another Rostech’s freshly created company, RT-Medicine OJSC, is planning to...