Russian health care and pharmaceutical industry

During a visit to Kozelsk in Kaluga Region on October 20, President Dmitry Medvedev said developing modern Russian-produced medicines and medical equipment was one of the most important aspects of technical modernization.

The pharmaceutical sector is a key focus of Medvedev’s modernization project and is maintaining double digit growth as the government implements the Pharma 2020 project, which aims to increase the competitiveness of the domestic market.

Meanwhile, thanks to sustained investment and the government’s Health 2020 strategy, Russian health care has improved markedly over the past few years. Since 2005, the government has spent $19 billion on improving the Russian health care system.


Below are some highlights of Russia’s progress in this area and further goals:

Since launching Health 2020 and Pharma 2020 Russia has:

• Quadrupled health care spending since 2001
• Allocated nearly $1 billion (30 billion roubles) to develop 14 high-tech medical centers in Russia’s regions including cardiology centers in Astrakhan, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk and Kaliningrad and a neurosurgery center in Tyumen
• Invested in preventative medical services and launched national campaigns to discourage bad habits such as smoking and excessive drinking
• Invested more than $28 million in efforts to combat the spread of infectious diseases throughout the former Soviet Union and $250 billion in malaria and AIDS vaccine development
• Increased domestic production of sophisticated medical technologies, with a JV between GE Healthcare and Meditsinskiye Technologii unveiling its first domestically assembled CT scanner in September
• Decreased infant mortality by a third and increased average life expectancy by three years

Looking Forward

• Russia’s pharmaceutical  market is forecast to grow to $20 billion in 2010 with more significant growth expected next year
• Russia will host the first international conference on promoting healthy lifestyles in Moscow next year

For more information, please see the Modern Russia factsheet “Russian Health care and Pharmaceutical Industry."
 

ModernRussia.com Fact Sheet - Russian Health care and Pharmaceutical Industry