Planned less
The list of vital and essential drugs (EDL) is not replenished with new medicines in 2017. This decision was taken at the final meeting of the special interdepartmental Commission on 15 November. The main reason is the “macroeconomic indicators”, said the Director of the Department of drug supply and regulation of medical devices circulation of the Ministry of health Elena Maksimkina.
According to her, provision for the purchase of medicines for treatment expensive rare cancer and hereditary diseases (“Seven nosologies”) remains at the level of 2016 and amount to 39.3 billion rubles, and the budget for patients with HIV reduced from 20.8 billion rubles spent in 2016, up to 18 billion.
Government funding for essential medicines is reduced, but the total budget on health in 2017, growing compared to the previous year it increased by 5.9% and will exceed 3 trillion rubles, reported on the website of the Ministry of health. For medicinal products laid down 70.8 billion rubles, but next year this amount can be increased.
Of vital and essential medicines is a list of medicines purchased by the government for preferential categories of the population. This list is updated every year.
The prices of medicines establishes the FAS. In the list for 2016 — 646 international nonproprietary names, which is about 23,5 thousand brands. According to analytical company DSM Group, the sales of drugs from the essential drugs list in 2015 accounted for half of the total market — 532 billion roubles from 1,064 trillion rubles.
Under the old scheme
At the Commission meeting, officials reviewed about two dozen of medicines applying for inclusion in the list. Most of these drugs to treat rare diseases, diabetes, chronic hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus. All drugs were given a negative opinion.
The listing claimed five drugs for the treatment of HIV, including children, and four drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C, according to the official statement of the Coalition of readiness for treatment of HIV/AIDS (ITPCru). The document emphasizes that some of the drugs recommended by the world health organization.
The inclusion of essential drugs for new effective drugs will require additional budget funds, the Director of the Association “Pharmaceutical innovation” Vadim Kukava. But in the future it will reduce the prevalence of diseases and thus will save the state money for treatment.
“The system is inefficient. In ten regions declared an unofficial epidemic of HIV, and we are trying to save it. According to our estimates, funds for the purchase of medicines must allocate exactly two times more” — sums up the expert.
The critical situation with HIV is observed in ten regions of the country, said health Minister Veronika Skvortsova. The national average at the end of 2015 by the human immunodeficiency virus were infected with 0.6% of residents calculated on the basis of data of Rosstat and Federal AIDS.Center.
In order to stop the HIV epidemic, it is necessary to provide special medicines as 90% of all those infected, according to the adopted world health organization Global strategy on HIV for the years 2016-2021. According to the health Ministry, in 2016 in Russia, the treatment was about 30% infected. In connection with the critical situation, the government has developed a strategy for HIV and planned for its implementation 52.9 billion RUB.
To save money on ineffective
The budget may include funds for the expansion of the list of essential drugs if the health Ministry revises the current list and will clean out the drugs with unproven efficacy, says Chairman of the Moscow city scientific society of physicians Pavel Vorobiev. According to him, in the list there are about 50 of these drugs. Deleting them, you can save about 7 billion rubles per year. “Even given the fact that some of these drugs are inexpensive (e.g., activated carbon), the purchase eats up a considerable amount of budget money,” he says.
Comments to the existing list of essential drugs is and the Federal Antimonopoly service, says the source close to the Agency. According to him, now the list is generated in such a way that restricts competition in the market of public procurement.
The final decision on the composition of the list in 2017 remains with the government.
