There are 1,378 compounding pharmacies operating in Russia, but about a third of them (37%) are on the verge of ceasing their operations. The reason is the lack of analyst pharmacists and pharmacy technologists. This was announced by the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection Leonid Ogul at a meeting of the working group created after the adoption of the law on compounding pharmacies.
He outlined the tasks aimed at optimizing regulation in the field of drug production in pharmacies. Joint training solutions need to be developed, and the restrictions on the work of such pharmacies should be reviewed: “Strict quality control should remain, but obstacles hindering the activities of pharmaceutical companies should be removed.” Enterprises should be provided with most favorable conditions for entering the market, Ogul said.
At the same time, this concerns not only “large high-tech entities”, but also “smaller companies”, although according to the law, only state organizations are allowed to engage in pharmacy production of medicines.
The meeting of the working group also featured a report on the monitoring of operations of compounding pharmacies. In particular, the deputies noted the trend towards the closure of such pharmacies and the transition of pharmacy’s activities to the trade-only format. “Most of them <…> belong to medical institutions and perform their orders. But representatives of those pharmacies also say they have a serious problem, which is the lack of qualified personnel,” Ogul stressed.
