OREANDA-NEWS. August 11, 2014. FAS Expert Council for developing competition in social sphere and health care discussed a draft Federal Law “On Introducing Changes to the Federal Law “On Circulation of Medicines”, submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation to the State Duma. The draft Law shall be considered by the State Duma in the first reading in September 2014.

The Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade, Timophei Nizhegorodtsev; Director of the Department for Drug Supplies and Regulating Circulation of Medical Products, of the Ministry of Health Care, Elena Maximkina; Deputy Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade, Yulia Yermakova, and other non-government associations took part in the meeting.

Reports of foreign pharmaceutical producers were given by Communications Director, of the Association of International Pharmaceutical Procuers; Irina Sheikkha, Executive Director of “Pharmaceutical Innovations” Association, Vadim Kukava; and the Head of Pharmaceutical Division of “VEGAS LEX”, Maria Borzova. The position of Russian pharmaceutical producers was presented by General Director of the Association of Russian Pharmaceutical producers, Viktor Dmitriev, including article-by-article proposals to the draft Law for refining to the second reading.

Executive Director of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations, Svetlana Zavidova, talked about possible impact of the changes to the Law upon Russian markets of clinical research, while the President of “Pharmaco-Economic Research Company” IPO, Pavel Vorobyov, drew attention of FAS Russia and the Ministry of Health Care to the need to correct several norms of No. 61-FZ Federal Law, particularly, on the issues of the legal status of dietary supplements, strengthening pharmacological control, and control over drug quality.

An expert of the World Health Organization, Andrey Meshkovsky, made a presentation on “61-FZ and Other Problems of the Pharmaceutical Sector” while the Head of Medical Vaccines Unit, GlaxoSmithKline, Elena Gorodnova, spoke about “Regulating Drug Circulation and Vaccine Availability for Children”.

Summing up the meeting, Timophei Nizhegorodtsev proposed to the participants for forward by September 2014 amendments to the draft Law to FAS Russia and the Ministry of Health Care to be discussed by the Working Group of the Expert Council.