Medvedev: 70% of drugs on the market are Russian-made

Domestic manufacturers satisfy 65-70% of the internal demand for medicines, and when it comes to the most essential and vital drugs (VED), the figure is 77%, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated during a live broadcast of an interview with five television channels.

"Not so long ago, our country was fully dependent on foreign drugs. Now we already satisfy 65-70% of domestic demand with our own drugs, and I emphasize – these are high-level drugs. Naturally, this is cheaper for the population, for our citizens, because they are not purchased for foreign currency. If we talk about the so-called most essential and vital drugs, we already satisfy 77% of domestic demand. Why did this happen? Because our pharmaceutical industry has developed," the Prime Minister noted.

According to Medvedev, over the past two years, Russia has invested a total of about 250 billion rubles in import substitution in industry: approximately 120 billion rubles through the Industry Development Fund and another roughly equivalent amount was invested by investors and through development institutions.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister promised to increase the healthcare budget.

"If this year it is compose approximately 2.6 trillion rubles, then next year the healthcare budget will be about 3 trillion rubles; in 2018 it will be 3 trillion 150 billion rubles, and in 2019 – 3 trillion 250 billion rubles," the head of the government said.

Earlier, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova urged Russians to trust the quality of domestic medicines. According to her, Russian drugs undergo all necessary examinations and their quality should not be in doubt.