Eli Lilly Halts Sales Of All Non-Essential Drugs In Russia

Here’s one deprivation the Russian people probably weren’t expecting.

American drugmaker Eli Lilly has decided to halt export of all non-essential drugs to Russia, including its blockbuster erectile dysfunction drug, Cialis.

The drugmaker told the FT that while it would continue to supply drugs for life-threatening illnesses, it will suspend all marketing, drug trials and investment in Russia, along with all non-essential meds, which they will no longer export.

This marks the first time a US drugmaker has decided to pull its business from Russia since the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

“For nearly 150 years, Lilly has worked to ensure patients have access to the medicines they need, no matter where they may live,” it said in a statement. “Our Russian operations are now only focused on ensuring people suffering from diseases like cancer and diabetes continue to get the Lilly medicines they need.”

Meanwhile, Pfizer said this week that pausing the flow of its medicines to Russia would violate the company’s foundational principle of “putting patients first” (which…is that what they have been doing with all those price hikes?).

The export of medicine and the materials necessary for making drugs and medical equipment were excluded from the sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and Europe.