cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/36926438
In 2024, Russian pharmacies had 134 fewer essential drugs than the year before. Of these, about 15% treat cancer. The remaining are antibiotics, anticonvulsants, immunosuppressants, insulin for pregnant women and drugs for migraines, allergies, tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and so on.
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For example, Endoxan, used as chemotherapy and to suppress the immune system, disappeared in May 2024, as did other drugs used in the treatment of lung and biliary tract cancer.
Last summer, doctors and patients complained about a shortage of the laxative Senade, which is included in the official list of essential drugs.
In October, many regions ran short of antibiotics with different active ingredients.
In November, immunoglobulin, which is extremely important for pregnant women with the Rh negative blood type, disappeared across almost all of Russia.
Meanwhile, even in Moscow and St Petersburg there was a serious shortage of saline solution for several months. For example, in the northern capital’s clinics the wait for procedures with saline solution took up to two months, and pharmacies had only ampoules of 5-10 milliliters.
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Sanctions, restrictions and the (poor) quality of generics have led to the emergence of a real black market for brand-name, original drugs. Suppliers buy batches of them in Turkey, India and European countries and then sell them through messenger chats.
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The most popular drugs on the internet are those for cancer treatment. This is unsurprising: most antitumor drugs cannot be found in pharmacies anymore.
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The Russian consultancy RNC Pharma estimates the cost of imported drugs increased a third in 2024.
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Prices have risen for the most common therapies as well, such as over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs and asthma drugs. The reason is that many locally produced medications are made with imported components, which have become much more expensive.
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Meanwhile, Russia produces many cheap generics, for which reason, however, brand-name drugs are leaving the country due to low selling prices. Another problem is that Russian generics do not undergo the required cycle of clinical trials. Their real efficacy is unknown, and they often have many more side effects.
This is the case not only for cancer drugs but also, for example, HIV drugs. In addition, Russia does not produce combination drugs, meaning patients on local treatment regimens need to take several pills at once instead of one, which is much less convenient.
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In the prevailing conditions, patients with orphan diseases find themselves in a hopeless situation. Their drugs are often very expensive, and almost no family can afford them on their own, even though they mean the difference between life and death.
In 2024, 77% of orphan disease patients complained about difficulties in obtaining drugs.
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Prices [for medications] will rise further and there will be even fewer medications on shelves – a fact acknowledged even by official Russian sources.