Indian firms expected to replace the West in the Russian pharmaceutical market

As the West continues to put stronger sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, India being a close ally, which maintained the balanced stance by abstaining from voting on UN resolutions, condemning Russian aggression, and emphasizing the need of adhering to international law and the UN Charter, would be a preferred market for Russia for purchase of the pharma drugs.

Russian ambassador to New Delhi Denis Alipov thus recently stated before the Rossiya 24 broadcaster that India will most likely replace the Western pharmaceutical companies that have withdrawn operation in Russia due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, as quoted by the Sputnik news agency. The withdrawal of Western pharmaceutical companies from Russia comes after the countries in the West have imposed harsh sanctions on Russia amid the Ukraine invasion.

The Russian ambassador Denis Alipov further mentioned that India is known as the “world pharmacy” across the globe and is a leading manufacturer of various drugs that are available in the market.

Over the past few decades, India has come to play a very important role in the pharmaceutical sector across the world as it is one of the largest providers of generic drugs globally. Also, during the pandemic, India's vaccination initiative solidified its reputation as the “pharmacy of the world”. Furthermore, the manufacturing costs are considerably lower in India, as compared to the U.S. and the European countries.

Therefore, India is well equipped to start its pharma supply in Russia on a large scale and not only strengthen the Indo-Russian trade but also provide humanitarian support through the supply of drugs. However, the situation of supply of drugs must be handled smartly by India considering providing support to Russia amid strong sanctions from around the world.