Moscow authorities ran a tender, as a result of which the price of the drug Raltegravir, used in the treatment of HIV infection, dropped to 2,800 rubles ($39.71) per package. At the same time, the highest price for the original Isentress is 17,200 rubles ($243.91.) According to RBC, this has become known from the data published on the public procurement portal.
Raltegravir is one of the most popular drugs for treating HIV-infected people, which the Moscow Health Care Department bought for 2,800 rubles per pack at the end of a tender. At the same time, the original drug Isentress produced by the international company MSD, has the maximum price of 17,200 rubles for a package of 60 tablets.
According to the data posted on the website of public procurement in the middle of January, it became known that the winner of the tender for the supply of nearly 5,000 packs was Biopreparat distributor who had reduced the contract price from 70.7 million rubles ($1 mln) to 14.1 million rubles ($199,952.1.) This bid will be closed by the generic drug Rolnavir, produced by the domestic company Promomed, which before the COVID-19 pandemic did not produce antiviral drugs. As reported by RBC, Rolnavir has already been commercialized twice, in October of last year and in January of this year.
According to Yulia Vereshchagina, a representative of the Patient Control movement, the appearance of a generic drug with the active substance raltegravir on the Russian market will allow HIV-infected people to receive the necessary therapeutic treatment. Herewith Vereshchagina expressed confidence that this drug will be as effective as the original.
According to Lenta.ru, in October 2022 the Russians who need HIV treatment complained about the shortage of the medications they need. It is known that Great Britain produces the drug Dolutegravir, recommended in the treatment of HIV infection. However, due to the sanctions imposed against Russia, including those related to the ban on the supply of drugs to our country, Dolutegravir also fell under the restriction, the amount of which in Russia has decreased.
According to Academician Vadim Pokrovsky, Head of the Specialized Research Department of Epidemiology and AIDS Prevention of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, 80-90% of Russians who seek help at medical institutions receive modern medications for HIV treatment. That is almost 800,000 people. According to Pokrovsky, 1.1 million HIV-positive people were found to have antibodies. The remaining 300,000 HIV-positive people have not started such treatment.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Rospotrebnadzor have different data on the prevalence rate and the number of HIV-infected Russians. For example, in the first half of December 2022 WHO published information indicating that Russia was one of the five countries with the highest HIV prevalence rates as compared to African countries. Gazeta.ru reports that the Health Ministry denied this information, saying it is “not true.”
Meanwhile, Pokrovsky admits that “the incidence of disease is high, and this is an undeniable fact.” Currently, 38.4 million people are registered in the world as infected with HIV. According to the Ministry of Health, there are 850,000 such patients in Russia, but according to Rospotrebnadzor, there are 1.1 million patients.