The State Medicines Agency explains the distribution of medicines registered in Russia or Belarus in Latvia

Medicines not registered in Latvia are medicines not included in the Latvian Medicines Register, which are registered and used in another country. ZVA draws attention to the fact that the medical practitioner assumes responsibility by prescribing to the patient medicines that are not registered in Latvia, but registered and used in another country.

Medicines registered in Russia or Belarus are distributed and used in Latvia only when there were no other available alternatives. For example, the drug “Natrii thiosulfas, solution for intravenous injections 3000 mg/10 ml, in N10 ampoules” has been imported from Russia as an unregistered drug, which is used in emergency medicine and for which there are currently no analogues available and no information on replacement options.

ZVA notes that, in contrast to the 90s of the 20th century, medicines produced in Russia or Belarus have made up a small part of the Latvian market in the last ten years. According to the ZVA, only 0.25% of the medicines registered and available in Latvia are registered Russian or Belarusian companies as one of the end product manufacturers or the active substance manufacturer.

When asked about medical devices, ZVA states that between 2022 and 2024, it has not received a single notification regarding the launch of medium-risk and high-risk class medical devices on the market in Latvia, the country of manufacture of which would be Russia and Belarus. For example, medium-risk medical devices are electroencephalographs, peripheral nerve stimulators, medical laboratory reagents for the detection of infectious disease agents.

ZVA does not have information on how many medical devices and their components are imported into Latvia from Russia and Belarus, because in accordance with the requirements of regulatory acts, such information is not submitted, compiled and stored to the agency.