Russia Cuts Spending On Drug Development
- 14.05.2026, 13:08
Because of the hole in the budget.
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to limit funding for the development of innovative drugs amid a growing budget deficit, Kommersant reports. Now the government is ready to pay only for the creation of so-called "first in class" drugs that have no analogues in the world. Initially, the authorities also promised to support the category of best in class - versions of already existing drugs that surpass their analogues in terms of efficiency and safety, writes The Moscow Times.
The new rules were announced by Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Ekaterina Priezzheva at a pharmaceutical forum in St. Petersburg. According to her, the government will reimburse costs only for the third phase of clinical trials and only for "breakthrough" developments. The maximum amount of support will be 2.5 billion rubles for one drug. The decision was made after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova. Russian drug developers - Generium, Biocad and R-Pharm - took part in the discussion.
The development of first-in-class drugs is considered one of the most expensive and risky in the pharmaceutical industry: it takes at least seven years and billions of rubles to bring such a drug to market. Manufacturers note that state support covers only part of the costs. Vikram Punia, the head of Pharmasintez, estimates that creating one innovative drug costs more than 5 billion rubles. "Innovations require large investments, especially at the late stages of clinical trials," confirms Alexander Bykov, director of health economics at R-Pharm.
The reduction in state support for drug development comes amid a sharp rise in the federal budget deficit. According to the Finance Ministry, in the first four months of 2026, the "hole" in the treasury reached 5.877 trillion rubles - this is already 1.6 times more than the plan for the whole year (3.786 trillion). Budget revenues amounted to Br11.7 trillion, while expenditures exceeded Br17.5 trillion.