Novo Nordisk, a major European insulin manufacturer, is leaving Russia

One of Europe's largest insulin manufacturers may leave the Russian market. Novo Nordisk, following the American BMS and Eli Lilly, plans to transfer the supply of its drugs to Russia to a third-party distributor.

Source. Kommersant writes about this with reference to two sources in the pharmaceutical market.

However, the final decision has not yet been made. The Swiss company Swixx Biopharma is a possible contender for the management of Novo Nordisk's Russian business, the source added. It was also handed over the management of the American Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Eli Lilly, which left Russia.

The US and EU countries did not impose sanctions on the supply of pharmaceuticals to Russia, but after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Western companies are still leaving the Russian market due to logistical difficulties.

In particular, at the end of last year, Novo Nordisk warned Roszdravnadzor of its intention to stop supplying the popular diabetes drug Ozempika to Russia. In 2022, sales of this drug amounted to 2.2 billion rubles, up 44% year-on-year.

Last year, 28 pharmaceutical manufacturers completely stopped supplying to Russia. The number of medicines available to Russian consumers at retail decreased by 2,400, according to estimates by DSM Group and RNC Pharma.

As a result, prices for medicines have risen in Russia, and some drugs have become in short supply. Even the Russian dictator Putin has acknowledged the shortage of medicines. He demanded that Russia stop depending on foreign drugs and increase the share of Russian medicines.

At the same time, domestic drug production in Russia experienced a complete collapse in early 2023: as of February, Rosstat recorded a 20.2% drop in output. The problem arose due to the lack of imported substances for production.

Background. Earlier it was reported that diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk will buy Emisphere Technologies for $1.