Documents on the regulation of the single drug market of the EurAsEC agreed

Members of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council have coordinated and signed the documents necessary for launching a common pharmaceutical market in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

During the meeting, which was attended by the prime ministers of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Armenia, orders were signed "On the Draft Treaty of the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Council" and "On the Draft Treaty of the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union."

"They will help domestic products become more successful and competitive on the global market. Within the Union, excessive trade barriers will be eliminated, manufacturers' costs will be reduced, and competition will increase, creating preconditions for containing drug prices," states the press release from EurAsEC.

The authorized bodies of any state of the Eurasian Economic Union have the right to conduct the procedure for determining the interchangeability of medicines in accordance with national legislation. Regulation of administration, pricing, and retail trade will remain at the national level for now. Countries will independently conduct government procurement and regulate drug advertising.

The documents provide for a transition period. For example, it is expected that until December 31, 2020, manufacturers will be able to choose whether to register medicines under national or unified rules. It was previously planned that the single pharmaceutical market would launch in 2016.

The Eurasian Economic Union is an international organization for regional economic integration, established on the basis of the Customs Union, and includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan. In December 2014, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Health, Oleg Salagay, announced the creation of a single market for medicinal products within the EAEU.