INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Emergency contraceptives and medical abortion drugs have all but disappeared from Russian pharmacy shelves after authorities imposed tighter
controls on medications containing the drug mifepristone, the investigative outlet Vyorstka reported Wednesday.The Health Ministry
regulation, introduced amid a nationwide demographic crisis and record-low birth rates, has sharply curtailed public access to a range of
List of Regulated Substances, classifying it alongside powerful hormonal and psychotropic drugs.Patients must now present a special
prescription form typically reserved for tightly controlled substances to obtain the medication, while pharmacies must document every
contraceptives, Jenale and Ginepriston, have vanished from pharmacies entirely, Vyorstka reported.Searches of the online catalogs for major
Rigla, one of the largest national chains, lists the drugs but shows them as out of stock.Representatives for six large pharmacy chains
confirmed the nationwide unavailability of mifepristone to Vyorstka but were unable to explain the disruption or provide timelines for
restocking.Mifepristone is the active ingredient in several critical reproductive health medications.A 10-milligram dose is commonly
prescribed as emergency contraception
The 200-milligram dose is used to induce medical abortions and has long been restricted to hospital settings, where it is administered under
medical supervision.The supply crisis appears to extend beyond retail availability
Russian hospitals had declined by one-third in 2024.According to pharmaceutical industry data from RNC Pharma cited by Kommersant, only
636,300 packages were delivered to medical institutions that year, down from 938,000 in 2023
Analysts say that represents the lowest consumption levels ever recorded.
