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On October 23, 2017, Prime Minister Medvedev signed a government order that approved a list of vital and essential drugs for medical use for 2018, as well as three more similar lists of drugs. All four of these lists have been expanded in comparison with the lists in force in 2017. The Order comes into force on January 1, 2018. In our article you can familiarize yourself with the complete list of vital drugs for 2018 included in the list, and also download the list if necessary.

List of vital drugs for 2018

• List of vital and essential drugs - in 2018, this list includes 60 drugs that were not on it before, as well as 8 new forms of those drugs that were on the list in 2017.
• The list of drugs that are prescribed by decision of medical commissions to certain categories of citizens has been supplemented since 2018 with 25 new drugs, as well as 2 new forms of drugs already on this list.
• The list of medications intended for patients with especially serious diseases (the list of diseases is provided) has been supplemented with 3 new medications since 2018.
• The minimum medications required to provide medical care are supplemented by 3 medications that are not included in this list in 2017.

Let us remind you that the list of vital drugs is updated annually, the other three lists can be updated once every three years.

The 2018 list appeared relatively early compared to the 2017 list, which appeared in last days 2016 – December 28.

As Deputy Prime Minister of the Social Block Olga Golodets noted during a government meeting on October 23, the existence of a list of essential drugs helps regulate prices for these drugs in pharmacies. That is why the expansion of the list, which since 2018 includes many breakthrough drugs that increase the effectiveness of treating certain diseases, is for good. The cost of these drugs will be relatively affordable, which would not have been the case without their inclusion on the 2018 list.

You can view all four lists of medications in full in the form below (to navigate, use the arrows in the upper or lower left corner, to change the scale, use the “+” and “-“ buttons). If you need to download the list, save the document as .

The first of the four lists is the most voluminous, and it is necessary for state regulation of prices for medicines in Russian pharmacies. Of course, the cost of medicines in pharmacies in our country is often perceived as very high, but without government regulation, many medicines would cost a fortune. At the same time, it is also worth remembering that the economy does not tolerate strict restrictions, so attempts to regulate prices so that drugs would cost very little would quickly lead to a shortage of these drugs. The way the government regulates prices in Russia is generally quite competent.

The remaining three lists generally pursue the same goal of state regulation of the cost of medicines, but they are more narrowly focused and are intended to provide medicines to certain groups of the population or individual patients with rare serious diseases.

The updated list of vital and essential drugs was supplemented with 60 new drugs. True, one of them can only be called new conditionally. Last year's list included the INN N-carbamoylmethyl-4-phenyl-2-pyrrolidone in two forms: tablets and film-coated tablets. In the 2018 list, the chemical structural name of the active substance N-carbamoylmethyl-4-phenyl-2-pyrrolidone was replaced by the INN name phenylpiracetam. The lekforms remained unchanged. Among the new products in the 2018 Vital and Essential Drugs list most antitumor drugs comprise 22 INNs (Table 1).

Six drugs will leave the list of vital and essential drugs

Six drugs from last year’s VED list were not included in the new list (Table 2). Among those excluded from the list are two items - systemic antiviral drugs for HIV treatment, one hypoglycemic drug, and one anti-asthmatic drug. The list of exceptions also included the antitumor drug monoclonal antibodies in combinations and estradiol.

VED formulations: plus 20 and minus 17 positions

In the updated list of Vital and Essential Drugs, the Government included 20 new formulations, one each for 19 INNs and two for bosentan (Table 3). Eight of the 20 lekforms are injectable, 11 are oral, including two with prolonged release (valproic acid granules and fenspiride tablets). Dexamethasone received a new formulation - an implant for intravitreal administration.

The government excluded from the list of Vital and Essential Drugs one form for 17 INNs (Table 4). The new list, in particular, does not include fentanyl sublingual tablets, tramadol oral drops, or ritonavir soft capsules. Extended-release nitroglycerin capsules are also excluded from the new list.

Minimum assortment - minimal changes

The Government added amlodipine tablets and fluconazole capsules to the list of the minimum assortment for pharmacies of industrial and finished dosage forms. In addition, for the INN oseltamivir, the oral suspension was excluded from the list, leaving only the “capsule” form. An alternative has emerged for atorvastatin tablets. Pharmacies can choose to include film-coated tablets or film-coated tablets in their minimum range. Changes in the minimum assortment do not apply to pharmacies, kiosks and individual entrepreneurs. For them the list remained the same.

Table 1. New drugs that will be included in the list of vital and essential drugs in 2018

Table 2. Drugs that were excluded from the 2018 VED list

Table 3. Drugs for which the number of lekforms will increase in 2018

Table 4. Drugs for which there will be fewer dosage forms in 2018

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved the list of vital and essential drugs for medical use (VED) for 2018. The corresponding order, prepared by the Ministry of Health, was published on the Government website on October 23.

Government Order No. 2323 r dated October 23, 2017 approved lists of vital and essential drugs, drugs prescribed by decision of the medical commission, drugs from the “7 nosologies” program, as well as a list of the minimum range of drugs.

Summary table of new INNs included in the list of VEDs for 2018

Materials about Vital and Essential Drugs and other lists:

So, let’s consider what this class of drugs is, what regulatory legal documents are regulated and what are the features of such a purchase. We’ll also tell you where to look at the list of Vital and Essential Drugs for 2019.

First, you need to define the basic terms used when purchasing medicines. 61-FZ dated 04/12/2010 gives basic concepts. Medicines are substances or their combinations that come into contact with the human body, used for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment of diseases, and rehabilitation. There can be two types:

• pharmaceutical substances (one or more active substances intended for the manufacture of drugs and which determine their effectiveness);
• medications, or drugs (used for prevention, diagnosis or treatment).

The latter come in several forms, they differ in the method of administration: solution, tablet, powder and others.

Any drug has either an international nonproprietary name (INN) - a name recommended by the World Health Organization, or a generic name - a name in the absence of an INN. In this case, the manufacturer must also assign a trade name. For example, ibuprofen is an INN, and the following trade names are found on sale: Mig (produced by Berlin-Chemie), Nurofen (from Reckitt-Benchiser), Next (produced by OTCPharm). Various manufacturers assign different trade names to drugs with the same active ingredient in order to identify the drug from a specific developer.

The state register of all registered drugs is maintained by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on the official website.

Where to find the 2019 Vital and Essential Drugs list

In order to meet the priority healthcare needs, prevention and treatment of diseases, including those prevailing in the structure of morbidity in the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Health maintains a list of so-called special drugs - VED. It is approved annually. Below you can download the updated list of vital and essential drugs for 2019.

Since 2012 the list is called vital drugs and not vital drugs, i.e. drugs, rather than the broader concept of drugs. And, although both abbreviations are still in use today, it is important to remember that the second option is not entirely correct.

You can download the list of Vital and Essential Drugs for 2019 (approved by Order No. 2738-r dated December 10, 2018) on various pharmaceutical websites, however, in order to obtain reliable information, it is more advisable to use the Government Order.

Download the list of vital and essential drugs for 2019 for free

Features of Vital and Essential Drugs procurement

The specifics of ordering this category of drugs deserve special attention:

1. Additional reasons for the rejection of participants: the maximum price of vital and essential drugs is not registered or the proposed price exceeds their maximum selling price under the conditions specified in clause 2, part 10, article 31.
2. Mandatory indication in the documentation of INNs (in their absence, chemical group names), and when conducting a request for proposals for procurement by decision of the medical commission for one patient during the treatment period, the documentation may contain a trade name.
3. Approved Rules for the formation of a list of medicines, the purchase of which is carried out in accordance with their trade names (Resolution No. 1086 dated November 28, 2013), but the list has not yet been created.
4. Restrictions on the purchase of drugs of foreign origin in accordance with Resolution No. 1289 of November 30, 2015.