The hype demand for levothyroxine sodium (a therapy for the treatment and prevention of thyroid hormone deficiency), which was observed at the beginning of the year, has subsided. This is reported by Izvestia with reference to the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (TsRPT, operator of Chestny Znak (“Honest Mark”) digital marking system).
From July to September 2022Russians purchased 2.5 million packages of levothyroxine sodium. This is almost two times less than in the second quarter, and 11% less y-o-y. In monetary terms, in the third quarter, sales amounted to 311 million rubles. In the first nine months of this year, Russians purchased 14.6 million packages of levothyroxine sodium.
As Revaz Yusupov, deputy general director of the TsRPT, emphasized, the demand for sodium levothyroxine, which grew early in the year, fell below last year’s level in the third quarter.
“At the beginning of the year, Russians stocked up on levothyroxine sodium. Demand increased threefold compared to last year’s values. This is not surprising, because its shelf life is three years. However, the demand started to decline in the second quarter. In the third quarter, everyone relaxed, and the demand for the drug fell 11% below last year’s level. We expect the demand to return to the usual level when citizens use up the stock they built up in the first half of the year,” Yusupov said.
Analysts of Chestny Znak do not predict a shortage of drugs used to treat hypothyroidism. The stocks currently available are sufficient for 7.4 months, and the warehouses are regularly replenished with domestic and imported drugs.
