Superfast insulin aspart “Fiasp” disappeared from Russian pharmacies

In the first quarter, state purchases of insulin aspart “Fiasp”, after the injection of which you can take food almost immediately, decreased by 95 percent. Ego can no longer be found in pharmacies, writes the newspaper “Kommersant”.

According to the calculations of the Headway Company, state purchases of insulin aspart in January-March 2024 decreased by 70 percent year-on-year. Among short-acting drugs, Fiasp from Denmark’s Novo Nordisk was the leader in terms of volume – its purchases decreased by 95 percent. According to AptekaMos, this drug has also disappeared from pharmacies in a number of cities, including Moscow, Moscow region and St. Petersburg.

At Novo Nordisk, they explain the supply delays with increased demand. According to RNC Pharma data, in January-February 2024, twice as much “Fiaspa” was delivered to Russia than a year earlier – 90 thousand versus 200 thousand packages. Responding to the request of one of the public organizations, the manufacturer of the drug reported that the next delivery of “Fiaspa” is expected only in June of this year.

Elvyra Gustova, president of the Moscow Diabetic Association, told Kommersant that problems with the purchase of the drug began at the end of 2023, and in 2024, some regions could no longer purchase Fiasp.

There is an analogue of “Fiaspa” from the Russian “Herofarm” on the market, but the volume of its deliveries is still small. According to Headway Company, at the beginning of the year, the company produced 300,000 packages.

“Fiasp” is a superfast insulin, it allows patients with diabetes to eat almost immediately after injection. In Russia, patients with diabetes can receive insulin for free, but some prefer to buy specific drugs independently in pharmacies.