Feb. 4 is World Cancer Day. According to the World Health Organization, Russia shares second place in Europe with Ukraine (after Hungary) for the number of people who die of cancer. There are 347 cases of terminal cancer per every 100,000 people in Russia. Treatment and support for patients often depends on rare and expensive drugs, the acquisition and application of which is, unfortunately, often beyond Russia's executive and legislative power.
The State Duma passed a bill on the circulation of drugs at first reading Jan. 31. Any mention of orphan drugs — drugs intended to treat rare diseases — has disappeared from the wording of the law.
It is unprofitable for pharmaceutical companies to manufacture or import these drugs. This is because state registration is required for importation, and the process of obtaining it is long and capital intensive (the new law will only complicate it further, since clinical trials are required in Russia).
Charitable organizations that help patients obtain access to drugs have to first receive a decree from the board of doctors at one of the state clinics. Then this decree goes to the Federal Health and Social Development Inspection Service, where after some time it is issued an import permit. Volunteers take this permit to, say, Germany or Britain and beg pharmacies to sell them a particular medicine, although in the West most of these drugs are “hospital” drugs, meaning that they are bought by clinics not private individuals. The volunteer then returns to Russia and pays 20 percent VAT and 10 percent duty at customs, which are the normal rates for nonregistered medicines. And since the law says nothing about these medicines, it is impossible to collect charitable donations officially to buy them.
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