18 mln bottles of saline solution will be put into circulation in Russia by the end of the year

By the end of 2024, 18 million bottles of saline solution are planned to be put into circulation in Russia, the situation with the production of the drug in the country is under control. This was reported in the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on December 19.

"According to manufacturers' information, in the period from December 16 and until the end of the year it is planned to enter into civil circulation more than 18 million bottles of the drug with INN sodium chloride (saline. - Ed.), and in January 2025 - more than 25 million bottles," the ministry told TASS.

They added that manufacturers in Russia have the ability to produce saline solution in the required volume. In addition, if necessary, the companies will be able to increase production volumes to promptly cover the country's needs.

The ministry shared the data of "Operator-CRPT", according to which for the past period of December 2024, 15 million packages of saline solution were put into circulation, which is 21% more than the average amount for the last three months, which is 22 million bottles.

Earlier in the day during the "Results of the Year", Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Industry and Trade did not make a decision on the price per package for saline solution in time and therefore there was a shortage of the drug. Now all the issues have been resolved, and the President hopes that there will be no more such failures. In addition, the head of state said that now pharmaceutical companies have begun to invest their own resources in the amount of tens of billions of rubles. There is a program for the development of pharmacology in the Russian Federation, it is expected that by 2030 the country will reach 90% supply of domestic drugs.

The same day, Assistant Minister of Health of Russia Alexei Kuznetsov said that the head of the Ministry of Health Mikhail Murashko instructed Roszdravnadzor to monitor every week how well medical institutions and pharmacies are provided with vital drugs, including saline and insulin.

Prior to that, on December 13, Izvestiya correspondents found out that several Russian regions are experiencing a shortage of sodium chloride in 200-500 ml containers. Only ampoules of 5-10 ml were available in pharmacies, which are intended for injections and are not suitable for setting up drips.

On December 11, the Ministry of Health reported about the preparation of a warning about the shortage of saline solution. The Ministry explained that the need arose due to the request of manufacturers to replace and re-register prices. The ministry added that all signals from the regions regarding the supply of the drug were worked out with the companies.