At the end of November, the Russian Ministry of Health published an Order expanding the list of medicines subject to itemised quantitative control. Among the four newly added positions was gabapentin, an anti-epileptic drug; however, the restrictions will only take effect on 1 March 2026. Most likely, the decision is linked to the rapid growth in demand for this product. According to the “Audit of Retail Sales of Medicinal Products in Russia (total sell out)” database of the analytics company RNC Pharma, in January–October 2025 Russian consumers across the entire country (including the new regions of Russia) purchased 9.4 million packs of medicines containing gabapentin as the active ingredient. Compared to the first ten months of 2024, unit consumption increased by 24.7%. The total retail sales value of gabapentin-containing products reached 7.7 billion RUB, with annual consumer spending rising by 33.7%. High consumption growth rates have been recorded for three consecutive years: in 2024 vs. 2023 unit dynamics amounted to 15.3% and value dynamics to 33.5%, and in 2023 vs. 2022 the figures were 24.7% and 32.2% respectively.

It is notable that consumption volumes and growth rates differ significantly across regions. The highest physical consumption during the reporting period was recorded in Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast. In the former, pharmacies sold more than 1 million packs of gabapentin over ten months, and in the latter almost 914 thousand packs. The highest year-on-year unit growth among Russian regions was observed in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and Kursk Oblast, where sales of the drug more than doubled.

When comparing Russian regions by per capita consumption of gabapentin, Rostov Oblast takes the lead — since the beginning of the year, the average consumption has reached 0.22 packs per resident; by comparison, in Moscow this indicator does not exceed 0.05 packs per person. Next in the ranking are Stavropol Krai and Krasnodar Krai, where per capita consumption in January–October 2025 amounted to 0.21 and 0.18 packs per person respectively. Donetsk People’s Republic also entered the top ten regions, with 0.15 packs per resident. The lowest consumption levels were recorded in the Republic of Tyva and the Chechen Republic, where the average stood at around 0.005 packs per person. It is important to note that these indicators do not account for inter-regional purchasing behaviour: residents of one region may travel to neighbouring regions to make purchases.

In total, over the first ten months of 2025 retail sales were recorded for six gabapentin brands (INN gabapentin), produced by 13 corporations. Approximately 80% of unit sales were attributable to non-branded generics manufactured by seven companies. The market leader in unit sales — for several years in a row — has been Canonpharma, accounting for more than 43% of retail sales. Also notable in the retail segment are Ozon Pharmaceuticals and PIC-Pharma, each generating slightly above 11% of total physical sales of gabapentin products.

Table. Top 10 Russian regions by per capita gabapentin consumption in the retail pharmaceutical market, January–October 2025