Hormonal drugs Divigel, Proginova and “Estrogel”, often used in in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, are in short supply in Russian pharmacy chains. RBC writes about this with reference to Nelly Ignatieva, the executive director of the Russian Association of Pharmacy Chains.
“The drugs are still supplied, but we would like to receive larger volumes in the retail network,” Ignatieva said.
According to Yulia Parkhomova, Regional Manager of Evalar pharmacy chain, the last deliveries of Divigel, Proginova, and Estrogel were in April to June 2022. Now suppliers do not have them “for unknown reasons.”
As Boris Popov, CEO of OOO Zdravcity, told the publication, these drugs are currently not on sale on Zdravcity marketplace.
“The leftovers were sold during the first week of August. There is a high demand for Estrogel, which the supplier, due to production restrictions, is not yet ready to fully meet. Small batches of the drugs are on sale. Divigel manufacturer, which is a Finnish company, has suspended deliveries to Russia,” Popov said.
He added that some ingredients that are necessary for the production of Proginova are in short supply, so the drug is not to be expected until September. Boris Popov noted the presence of analogues that can also be used in IVF procedures, listing Femoston, Angeliq and Zoely.
“There is a shortage of hormonal drugs Proginova, Estrogel, and Divigel in the distribution and retail segments of the pharmaceutical market. At the moment, small quantities of these drugs remain in the Rigla chain pharmacies. The manufacturer of Divigel announces planned deliveries to warehouses in late August – early September. Estrogel and Proginova were shipped to distributors at the end of July, and no information is available concerning the date of resumption of Estrogel supply, and a batch of Proginova is expected in September,” Natalia Burdina, commercial director of Rigla pharmacy chain, told RBC.