Results of production and economic activity of pharmaceutical giants in the context of a pandemic

Coronavirus pandemic has become an activator of pharmaceutical production development in Russia. If earlier the domestic industrial potential of the country was mediocre in this sphere and the import dependence in a number of directions was preserved, with the beginning of the pandemic there was a jump in scientific and production level of pharmaceutical development, making the branch one of the perspective business spheres in the existing conditions. Pharmaceutical business in Russia is at the stage of large-scale transformation, which COVID-19 only accelerated. If previously the pharmaceutical market was characterized by conservatism and a low degree of flexibility to transformation, the pandemic has become a driver of its development through transformation and digitalization. The article examines the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the development of the pharmaceutical business in Russia based on a comparative assessment of economic performance in the context of the TOP 10 market leaders in 2020. It is revealed that among the top 10 market leaders in 2020, only two companies occupying the 9th-10th places of the rating do not produce products relevant to the pandemic, while the first 8 make a significant contribution to the pharmaceutical market in this area. Thus, four organizations from the top 10 produce the Sputnik V vaccine, and six produce specific antivirals against coronavirus. Largely due to this specialization as of 2020, their revenues have increased significantly from the indicative 2018 level.