The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has clarified the procedure for purchasing forms of drugs not included in the list of vital and essential drugs.

The FAS prepared the letter in response to questions from economic entities regarding the legality of regional commissions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service rejecting bids from tender participants based on the absence of the proposed dosage form on the list of vital and essential drugs. The applicants pointed out that equivalent dosage forms were on the list, and the proposed drugs had registered maximum selling prices.

The regulator concluded that if there is a discrepancy between the information in the State Register of Medicines regarding a drug's non-classification as a VED and the state register of maximum selling prices, government customers should rely on the latter database and take into account the data contained in the list of interchangeable medicines. The FAS deemed rejecting bids from procurement participants due to the absence of a certain dosage form from the VED list or the State Register of Medicines, even though a registered price for such a drug exists, to be unlawful.

Representatives of the service noted that in the fourth quarter of 2024, they, together with the Russian Ministry of Health, conducted “work to aggregate dosage forms in the list of vital and essential drugs.”

The Ministry of Health last updated the list of interchangeable drugs, which, among other things, includes a list of equivalent dosage forms, at the end of March 2025. As experts from the law firm Verba Legal explained, the inclusion of these drugs in the document could lead to customers more often opting for cheaper alternatives during government procurement. The lawyers believe that doctors and pharmacy consultants' preference for a wider selection of interchangeable drugs within a single INN increases competition between manufacturers whose drugs are included in the list.