Availability of innovative drugs for breast cancer therapy in Russia

Introduction. Access to modern methods of treatment and, consequently, innovative medicines, is one of the main indicators of the pharmaceutical industry development in the country and the healthcare system as a whole. The concept of “accessibility of medicines” can be considered in two aspects: physical and economic. Breast cancer confidently occupies the first place in the structure of oncological diseases among women. Since the beginning of 2023, doctors have identified 77 000 cases of breast cancer in Russia.

Aim. To assess the availability of innovative drugs used for the treatment of breast cancer on the Russian market.

Materials and methods. Data from open information sources were used as the analysis material: the IQVIA database; data on clinical trials in Europe and the USA; clinical guidelines of the Russian Federation. A search was also carried out in the scientific electronic libraries eLibrary and PubMed.

Results. From 2018 to 2023, the FDA approved 8 drugs and one diagnostic medicine for breast cancer. The European Agency has registered 6 medicines over the same 5-year period. In the Russian Federation, only three of these drugs have reached registration, and two more remain in Russian clinical trials with the status of “ongoing”.

Conclusions. Only one drug, Talazoparib (Talcenna, Pfizer), can be considered available to a Russian patient according to accepted criteria. Over the past 5 years, breast cancer therapy has focused on the new innovative drugs that have shown high efficacy in the treatment of severely treated patients or superior efficacy in comparison with established therapy algorithms.

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