The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia plans to investigate several domestic pharmaceutical companies due to signs of unjustified price increases for drugs not included in the list of vital and essential medicines (VED). This was announced by Timofey Nizhegorodtsev, Deputy Head of the FAS, during the Semashko Russian Pharmaceutical Forum.

“Many companies may soon find themselves under our scrutiny and investigation. This may help cool down the overheated market for non-VED drugs. We now see this as one of our main priorities,” he said.

According to Nizhegorodtsev, the agency has observed “various pricing behaviors” in the non-VED market that are “a cause for serious concern.”

“Some companies are engaging in cross-subsidization, shifting marketing and other costs onto non-VED medicines. As a result, prices are being inflated,” he explained.

Earlier, FAS found that KRKA, a pharmaceutical company, violated antitrust laws by setting monopolistically high prices for its drugs.

“We had an antitrust case against KRKA. We won in the first instance and the second hearing is coming up. We are confident we will win again. After that, we plan to use this investigative model as a template for examining the entire market for non-VED medicines,” said Nizhegorodtsev.

Intellectual Property Concerns

Nizhegorodtsev also addressed intellectual property issues in the pharmaceutical sector. He noted that some Russian companies, taking advantage of expiring patents on foreign drugs, attempt to launch domestic generics prematurely.

“We believe this is problematic and shows signs of legal violations. If you register a generic, you’re acknowledging that it’s based on existing intellectual property. If you launch it prematurely, that’s a form of unfair competition,” he stated.

Source: TASS, May 13, 2025