The Russian Pharmaceutical Market after the Crisis: An Insider's View

Abstract

The average citizen of Russia consumes US$20 worth of medicines, including US$8 worth of domestically produced medicines. Although this lags far behind levels in the more developed Western markets (for instance, US$156 in France, US$178 in USA), the large size and enormous growth potential of the Russian market means that it remains one of the most important developing markets for global pharmaceutical companies. Any understanding of this complex and evolving market must begin with an appreciation of a watershed in its history — the macro-economic crisis of August 1998. This calamitous event divided the history of the pharmaceutical market into two distinct periods — ‘before’ and ‘after’ the crisis. To this day, industry professionals refer to ‘before crisis’ as a prosperous, dynamic, successful time. Managing in today's Russian pharmaceutical market means understanding that period and what has happened since.