One tablet at a time: The EU has dramatically increased the purchase of Russian medicines

The EU significantly increased the volume of purchases of medicines from Russia in September, according to Eurostat data. In just nine months of 2025, the Russian Federation sold 26.9 million euros worth of medicines to the region, which is twice as much as a year earlier. Which domestic drugs are in demand and how to explain the increase — read the Izvestia article.

There is a huge demand for Russian drugs in Europe

In September 2025, EU states purchased medicines in Russia for 7.6 million euros. This is a record result — purchases for a large amount were recorded only in December of the covid 2020. At the same time, in monthly terms, purchases in September 2025 increased 7.2 times, amounting to about 1 million euros.

According to the results of the first three quarters of 2025, the import of medicines from Russia amounted to 26.9 million euros, which is twice as much as in the same period of 2024.

Slovenia and Hungary were the most active buyers of Russian products. Moreover, the first one accounted for 85.5% of the total volume, or 6.5 million euros. Hungary's expenses amounted to about 0.95 million euros.

According to Eurostat, imports of domestic medicines and pharmaceutical products to the EU have been growing by 1 billion euros annually since 2014.

Interestingly, Russia is not the main supplier. On the contrary, we mainly buy drugs from the European Union, accounting for only 3% of EU exports.

Disparate numbers

Although the import of Russian medicines to Europe is measured in millions of euros, it is not comparable with the volume of exports, which is expressed in hundreds of millions of euros, confirms Daniil Ivanin, senior analyst at VMT Consult.

— For example, by the end of September, Russia imported medicines from Europe for 553.8 million euros, and for the three quarters of 2025 - for 5.6 billion euros. Thus, the supply figures are primarily explained by the low base. One significant September purchase within one country (Slovenia) was enough for a sevenfold difference," the analyst explains.

In general, according to Daniil Ivanin, Russian imports have growth potential if the market conditions are favorable.

— Domestic medicines have an attractive price: our generics are 2-5 times cheaper than their European counterparts. In Russia, labor is cheaper and the cost of electricity is lower. Our country would also be a reliable supplier in case of disruptions due to flexible logistics, for example, for many Eastern European countries, not just Slovenia and Hungary," the source comments.

Not among the first

In 2024, the United States and Switzerland were the EU's key trading partners in the field of medical and pharmaceutical products. America accounted for 38% of EU imports, while Switzerland accounted for 33%. The UK, South Korea, China and Singapore are also among the top suppliers.

According to FG Finam, the import of pharmaceutical products to the EU in 2024 amounted to about 120 billion euros. At the same time, the share of the Russian Federation accounts for a small percentage of the total volume, even despite the multiple growth and at first glance an impressive 7.6 million euros in September.

— The increased demand for Russian medicines in Europe may be explained by Trump's measures to make American medicines cheaper on the domestic market. As a result, goods from the United States are becoming more expensive for Europeans, and the latter are looking for other sources of supply," says Zarina Saidova, analyst at Finam.

According to the expert's forecast, due to the "American" factor, the EU is likely to continue to purchase medicines in Russia in increased volumes.

The main importers of medicines and pharmaceuticals from the EU in October 2025 were the United States, Switzerland, China, Singapore, Israel, South Korea and India, Antonina Levashenko, head of the laboratory for the analysis of best international practices at the Gaidar Institute, told Izvestia.

It's the same thing.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 2024, Russia exported medicines under 1,362 international nonproprietary names. According to VMT Consult, Russian generics are in the greatest demand abroad: they have proven themselves well over the years of use. Also in the top are vaccines and rarer drugs (for example, antibiotics, nootropic, cardiological and immunostimulating drugs).

— And if generics, as analogues of original drugs, are in demand in poor countries, then competitive products for the EU (there is no open data on supplies) are all kinds of vaccines against measles, influenza, polio, etc., as well as antiviral drugs. It is the latter that are most in demand during the autumn-winter cold season, which is explained by the sharp increase in volumes in September," explains analyst Daniil Ivanin.

According to the expert, there is no reason to expect a significant increase in Russian exports of medicines to Europe.

— Yes, in percentage terms, any growth will look convincing against the background of modest real figures. The expansion of new Russian medicines is hampered by legal requirements and financial issues," continues Daniil Ivanin.

According to the analyst, permission is required to export such sensitive products, and it can only be obtained based on the results of clinical trials abroad. Firstly, it is very expensive, and secondly, it is difficult to achieve in the context of anti-Russian sanctions and general geopolitical rhetoric. At the same time, the analyst acknowledges the exclusion of some medicines from the sanctions categories.

Not exactly medicines

According to Antonina Levashenko, the sharp increase in exports may also be explained by the peculiarities of collecting statistics. Thus, customs statistics indicate only trade flows: simultaneously with the growth of domestic exports, it can be observed that the import of European medicines to the Russian Federation has increased. And the Eurostat data is often focused on the standard classification of codes in international trade.

— For example, the import category No. 54 "medicines and pharmaceutical products" (which, according to media reports, has seen an increase) includes the codes for vitamins and dietary supplements (No. 5411), although they are not formally considered medicines. This also includes group No. 5419 — other pharmaceutical products, except medicines. Accordingly, statistical data may actually show that not only and not so much the export of medicines has increased, but also the supply of dietary supplements and other pharmaceutical preparations," Antonina Levashenko concluded.