The availability of quality medicines is one of the key areas for the development of national goals to reduce mortality in the Russian Federation. Social surveys demonstrate that patients do not always receive the necessary medications for a variety of reasons. The problem of accessibility and quality of drugs covers all participants in the pharmaceutical market. Valentina Buchneva, head of the Bosnalek Eurasian division of the pharmaceutical company, will share the pharmaceutical manufacturer’s view of the urgent problem.
Valentine, the problem of the availability of quality medicines for the population remains relevant. What steps do you think are needed to solve it? What is Bosnalek doing in this direction?
To increase the availability of quality medicines, you need to shorten the path of the drug from manufacturer to consumer. It is about reducing the number of resales by intermediaries. In addition, the labeling and use of online pharmacy chain box office data will increase the transparency of the supply chain. Bosnalek is one of those industry pioneers who are carefully preparing for the introduction of labeling, and as soon as the state approves the new rules, we will immediately begin to work in accordance with them. Speaking about increasing the availability of quality drugs, one cannot ignore the sphere of trade in dietary supplements, which is in dire need of regulation. The vicious practice of replacing these drugs with dietary supplements under the guise of cheaper analogues must be stopped. Also, to improve the market will help the large-scale implementation of certification practices for the Russian and EAEU GMP (by the way, Bosnalek has Russian and EAEU certificates, in addition to European ones).
Who do you think influences the availability of drugs more: manufacturers or distribution networks? What is the reason for this?
Today, most manufacturers strive to meet the population’s demand for high-quality and affordable drugs, optimizing transport and logistics costs, as well as regulating commercial policy. So, over the past year, the cost of our popular product “Lizobact” on average decreased by 5%. & nbsp; If we talk about commercial retail, then there are a number of issues that need to be addressed, including at the regulatory level. For example, there is the problem of uneven distribution of pharmacies: in large cities and in commercially attractive areas, several pharmaceutical aids can work in one building, but at the same time there are very few of them in the outback, and the range is scarce. Today, pharmacies are commercial institutions, but it must be remembered that they have an important social function.
Bosnalek has recently become the first East European pharmaceutical manufacturer to pass GMP certification under the unified EAEU rules. How will this affect the development of the company, including in Russia?
The mechanism for registering medicines under the unified rules of the EAEU is in the process of formation, and a number of issues remain open. However, it’s already obvious that its launch will optimize the material and time costs that pharmaceutical manufacturers incur in bringing products to the markets of the community. In turn, this will make medicines more accessible to the consumer. Our production passed the GMP inspection according to the unified EAEU rules – this is part of the company’s strategy to expand business in the countries of the economic community. As soon as the mutual recognition of registration between them works, we will be ready to work in this format.
Tell us how localization of production solves the issue of the availability of quality products for the end user? What role does technology transfer play in this process?
Technology transfer is an essential part of localization. It requires separate regulation and formalization of the transfer of knowledge and technologies in industrial production in order to lay the appropriate level of quality of drugs already at the development stage. This may involve the transfer of a new product from the development stage to the production stage, or the transfer of a registered commercial product between production and control sites (or within one of them). Regardless of the nature of the transfer, compliance with safety standards and the effectiveness of drugs – this is a prerequisite for their production and sale to the public.