Life and provision: Russia has managed to import only 25% of medical equipment
So far, Russian medical devices have managed to occupy only a little more than a quarter of the country's medical equipment market, the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia. Now the production of X-ray machines and glucometers has been established, but there are no, for example, domestic magnetic resonance tomographs - this is still an import-dependent story, experts say. However, they admit that it is impossible to develop and mass produce a complex device in a year or two, it should take about five years.
What medical equipment is produced in Russia
Theshare of domestic medical devices in the total market in 2023 amounted to 25.4%, reported "Izvestia" in the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In government purchases, the share of Russian medical equipment is now about a third - 28.5%.
At the same time, as noted by representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in early December 2023 at an interdepartmental meeting on the prospects of production of domestic high-tech equipment for health care, the share of Russian medical equipment in the market of medical products by the end of last year should have reached 29%.
In the first nine months of 2024, Russian manufacturers produced more than 263 thousand units of medical equipment, including more than 4.5 thousand devices for fluoroscopy, radiography and computed tomography, the department specified.
However, experts interviewed by Izvestia noted that a quarter of the market is not enough.
- Moreover, most of this equipment is most likely a large-scale assembly using imported parts, " suggested Stanislav Goldberg, Chairman of the Commission on Circulation of Medical Devices of "Support of Russia". - By and large, the most advanced story in Russia now is really X-ray machines, and it has long been prepared, but the main lamps in them are still imported.
A large share of Russian products is represented, according to the analytical company RNC Pharma, in the market of glucometers.
- A significant share of this market is occupied by a large domestic manufacturer "Elta", - said RNC Development Director Nikolay Bespalov. - There are also domestic pacemakers and ventilators on the market.
At the same time, he noted, there are problems with CT machines, despite the agency's statement.
- CT and MRI are single devices, there is no serial and import-independent production," the expert said.
High-tech medical products are only partially replaced, and the share of import substitution depends very much on the field of application, Oleg Volkov, medical director of Plastis-M, a domestic manufacturer of unique embolization particles and silicone implants, told Izvestia.
- In some areas it is up to 80%, in some areas it is only 20%," he noted. - For example, there are domestic X-ray machines, ventilators, monitors, ultrasound scanners and other stationary equipment. In cardiology and cardiac surgery there are domestic heart valves, vascular prostheses, coronary stents, balloons and other consumables for angioplasty, embolizing particles.
In orthopedics and traumatology, Oleg Volkov added, there are also domestic components.
- Russia also uses domestic technologies and medical products that have no foreign analogs," he emphasized. - In this respect, our country has great potential.
What equipment has not been imported yet
Stanislav Goldberg confirmed to Izvestia thatthere are no fully Russian MRI machines yet. According to him, there are also problems with domestic hemodialysis machines, there is a lack of development and production in the field of microelectronics, radio elements, hydraulics for medical equipment, there are no a number of necessary plastics for production, chemical and biochemical elements, there are problems with the production of cables and a number of mechanical elements, medical pumps.
The regional office of Nephro-Liga in Bashkiria confirmed to Izvestia that all equipment for dialysis patients is foreign.
- For some time hemodialysis was performed on the domestic device "Malakhit", but now they have stopped buying it, - said the head of the regional department Yuri Kandalov.
The president of the association of cancer patients "Hello!" Irina Borovova told Izvestia that in practice all infusion pumps are imported, and their consumables are also foreign.
Stanislav Goldberg added that Russia has developed software development for medical equipment.
- But in general, it would be foolish to expect the Ministry of Industry and Trade to solve something like this in a year or two. In general, to put any medical product into mass production is at best three years, and most likely five, it's not fast," he said. - If three years ago we had about 90% of foreign equipment, even large-unit assembly was absent, what we see now is already progress. Medical equipment is an extremely complex production because it is diversified.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia that the localization process is underway and pre-production samples of various high-tech equipment are being created.
"In particular, a mobile radiotherapy complex based on domestic small-size betatron technology, a hemodialysis machine, a magnetic resonance tomograph, an optical coherence tomograph for ophthalmology," reads the reply to the editorial board's inquiry.
Personnel for import substitution
Inthe near future, the draft strategic plan for the development of the medical industry should be finalized, Izvestia was reminded by the Medical Technology Consortium. This is a non-profit association, which includes more than 240 enterprises - developers and manufacturers of medical equipment.
"Now the document is being developed by the Consortium together with the Association "Rosmedprom", working groups, subordinate institutions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Center for Technology Transfer of the Ministry of Health, Roszdravnadzor, Sechenov and Samara universities, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Duma, the Moscow government," the organization reported. - According to analytical data of the consortium, the volume of investments in medical equipment in 2023 amounted to about 1 billion rubles".
The Ministry of Health at the time of publication of this article did not respond to the editorial board's request about the need for import-substituted medical equipment and training of personnel for such production.
On Wednesday, November 20, the First Sechenov Moscow State Medical University and Rostec State Corporation signed an agreement on joint development of new medical equipment and training of personnel for medical instrumentation.
- I believe that scientific and production cooperation should be strengthened and brought to a new level," Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said during the signing ceremony. - To work together to create products and innovations needed by the state, different sectors of the economy and citizens of our country.
He added that last year Rostec's investments in joint developments with universities exceeded 14 billion rubles.
Rector of the First Moscow State Medical University Pyotr Glybochko reminded that together with Shvabe Holding Company, a Rostec member, the university plans to launch production of the first batch of a wearable device for long-term electrocardiogram monitoring in 2025.
- Joint clinical studies of ultrasound ablation device (a device for minimally invasive therapy of cancer of different localization. - Ed.) intended for treatment of cancer patients are also planned with Shvabe company, - the press service of the university informed Izvestia.- Together with JSC "United Instrument Corporation" signed an agreement on a joint program in cardiology and oncology. From the beginning of 2025, the partners will start joint development of products in these areas.
They explained that they are developing a device for superfrequency therapy in oncology, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (a device designed to eliminate life-threatening arrhythmias and prevent cardiac arrest) and a miniature circulatory assist device.
Rostec State Corporation told Izvestia that under the conditions of sanctions restrictions, the corporation's enterprises are working on import substitution and creating their own medical technologies, products and medicines.
- Currently, our portfolio includes about 150 registered products for surgery, resuscitation, ophthalmology, oncology and other areas of medicine, as well as more than 220 drugs for immunoprophylaxis and treatment, " they said. - We have formed a program for the development of medical instrumentation up to 2030. The goal is to quadruple the presence of our manufacturers in the market of medical devices.
According to Rostec, the volume of investments under the program will amount to more than 10 billion rubles.
- Including this year, a project will be launched in the Kaluga Region to create production of a wide range of new medical devices, " said the Group. - Naturally, such ambitious plans are associated with an increase in staffing needs. In the field of medical instrumentation, we need engineers, designers, medical programmers, technologists, and finally, practicing doctors who are able to competently formulate technical specifications for developers.
Alexei Melnikov, Deputy Director General for Civil Product Development and National Projects at KRET, a holding company in the radioelectronic industry (one of Rostec's companies), called the lack of product managers who understand how to make medical equipment that meets the requirements and wishes of customers a pain.
- In our case, the clients are doctors, the medical community," he said.
He complained that not all universities train such specialists. Also, he said, the industry lacks developers of medical equipment.
