Sugar fee: diabetes drug prices up 35%
Medicines for diabetes mellitus in 2024 have become more expensive than other drugs, the analytical company DSM Group has calculated for Izvestia. Their cost has increased by almost 35%. The prices of drugs for the treatment of obstructive respiratory diseases and hypolipidemic drugs also increased - by 19% and almost 14%, respectively. What are the reasons for the rise in price of each of these groups - in the material "Izvestia".
Why did the prices of medicines rise
Most significantly in 2024 in Russia rose in price of drugs for the treatment of diabetes mellitus - the average price per package rose by 34.7% in 11 months. This follows from the data of the analytical company DSM Group, which were reviewed by Izvestia. The cost of drugs for obstructive respiratory diseases increased by 19.04%, as well as hypolipidemic drugs - by 13.85%. The latter are used in the complex therapy of diseases accompanied or caused by disorders of lipid metabolism. For example, in cardiovascular system.
In 2024, according to DSM Group, in January-November, Russians purchased 44.6 million packages of diabetes drugs for 37.6 billion rubles, 39 million packages of drugs for the treatment of obstructive respiratory diseases for 25.3 billion rubles and 43.7 million packages of medicines for the treatment of diseases accompanied or caused by lipid metabolism disorders for 27.8 billion rubles through pharmacies.
According to the analytical company RNC Pharma, the average price per package of drugs for diabetes mellitus therapy increased by 38.5% in January-November 2024 compared to the same period last year. The average cost of a drug for the therapy of obstructive airway disease increased by 11%, while cholesterol-lowering and atherosclerotic drugs increased in price by 12%.
One of the reasons is that this group includes semaglutide preparations, which, although intended for the treatment of diabetes, are massively used not for the direct indication, but to combat excess weight, explained Nikolay Bespalov, development director of RNC Pharma.
The drug based on semaglutide was developed by Danish Novo Nordisk in 2012. The drug is sold under the trade nameOzempik. The main indication is the therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus. But foreign and then Russian celebrities began to use it for weight loss, which increased the demand for the drug among the population.
Until 2023, Ozempik was the only semaglutide-based drug in Russia. But after the manufacturer announced its withdrawal from the Russian market, domestic companies began to bring its analogs to the market.
- The cost of such Russian drugs as Quincenta from Promomed or Semavik from Geropharm is 5.1 thousand and 5.4 thousand rubles per pack, and 1.4 million packs were sold in 11 months. This fact alone has had a very serious impact on the average price tag for the group, but this is more of an anomaly due to the use of relatively expensive drugs not for the main indications, " the expert added. - Consumption of the drug Forsiga from AstraZeneca is also growing rapidly. There is a switch to it from cheaper analogs.
Nikolay Bespalov attributed the increase in the average price of hypolipidemic drugs and for the therapy of obstructive respiratory diseases to the growing demand for drugs from this group.
According to Vadim Tkachenko, a lawyer, founder and CEO of the vvCube consulting group, the increase in the price of drugs is also due to the fact that these groups are dominated by foreign-made drugs. The cost, he explained, is affected by the ruble exchange rate and increased logistics costs.
Position of the industry
"Izvestia" sent requests to "Geropharm", "Promomed" and "PSK Pharma", engaged in the production of diabetes drugs, with a request to comment on their price hikes.
- This year there has been an increase in demand for new generation drugs for the therapy of type 2 diabetes, including liraglutide and semaglutide. These drugs are more expensive than a number of drugs used before, which is primarily due to the peculiarities of development and production technology," Evgenia Shapiro, General Director of PSK Pharma, told Izvestia. - At the same time, drugs for the therapy of type 2 diabetes approved by clinical recommendations are included in the list of vital and essential drugs. The maximum selling price for them is determined by the Federal Antimonopoly Service and cannot be dynamically adjusted upward by manufacturers. Therefore, inflation, currency exchange rate changes, rising costs of raw materials and packaging materials affect business more than consumers.
A significant number of patients, she added, have access to the drugs within the framework of preferential provision.
Promomed said that the availability of manufactured drugs for Russian patients is one of its key priorities.
"The prices for our drugs in 2024 have significantly decreased compared to foreign analogs, and by the end of the year the cost ofour drugs became even more interesting than other domestic manufacturers," Promomed said.
The company "Geropharm" at the time of publication of the material did not respond to the editorial request.
"Izvestia" also asked the group of companies "Protek" (it includes pharmacy "Rigla" and marketplace "Zdravcity") and pharmacy "Planet of Health" to comment on the rise in the price of drugs.
According to Zdravsity, the average price per pack of hypolipidemic drugs has increased by 20% year-on-year, said Evgeny Ruzejnikov, General Director of the health marketplace.
Among anti-diabetic drugs, he added, the price rise affected insulins - their cost increased by 4%. The average price per package in the category of hypoglycemic drugs on "Zdravsity" increased almost twofold.
He attributed the rise in the price of drugs to inflationary processes and more than twofold expansion of the range of antidiabetic drugs, mostly imported, in 2024.
Drug market in 2025
According to Sergey Shulyak, General Director of DSM Group, the cost of drugs not included in the list of vital and essential drugs (VED) has increased by 8% on average, with a twofold increase for some items. The expert reminded that the prices of VED list drugs are regulated by the state, so they have increased insignificantly.
- There are cities in the country where pharmacy chains, taking advantage of the monopoly, set prices two or three times higher than Moscow prices, - emphasized the chairman of the All-Russian Patients' Union Yan Vlasov. - We receive a lot of appeals to our hotline about the rise in prices for certain medicines. The tendency of washing out the drugs of the cheap segment, costing up to 150 rubles, continues - it is unprofitable to produce and transport them.
The expert believes that it is necessary to introduce price control for all subsidized drugs, not only from the list of vital and essential drugs.
Retail indicators are not falling in packages, although the cost is rising and next year the level of drug consumption will remain the same, believes Sergei Shulyak.
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