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2024: Hit by US sanctions

In early May 2024, Russian suppliers of medical equipment Biograd and Rau Farm fell under US sanctions. According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury (OFAC), these companies conducted "activities in the economic sector of the Russian Federation, designed to support the military-industrial base of Russia."

Biograd CJSC supplies reagents for clinical laboratory diagnostics and rapid tests for the diagnosis of HIV and hepatitis, syphilis, pneumococcus and other respiratory diseases. The distributor's website says that it supplied products from Abbott, LumiraDx, NovaTech, Alere, Biogal, Orgenics, etc.

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As for Rau Pharm, it is a supplier of medical equipment and products, laboratory and analytical equipment and reagents from foreign manufacturers. The company's website says it has supplied products from Sigma, Thermo Fisher, Agilent Technologies, Pentax Medical, Ermis Medizintechnik, Portex and Braun Sharing Expertise.

The sanctions imposed by OFAC involve freezing the assets and operations of the company and its affiliates. Citizens and companies USA from are prohibited from doing business with blacklisted organizations. The leaders of such companies are also prohibited from entering the United States. A company under sanctions will no longer be able to receive US technology. Any organization that is more than 50% owned by companies under sanctions also falls under these sanctions.

Sanctions against Russia, as a rule, affect the domestic healthcare industry only indirectly. This is due to the decision made in international relations that medicines and medical equipment are non-sanctioned goods. However, sometimes restrictions are imposed directly on companies that manufacture or retail industry products.^[1]

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