The physical sales volume of over-the-counter drugs in the retail segment of the Russian pharmaceutical market has been declining for the third consecutive year. In the first half of 2026, consumption of OTC products decreased by 5.9% compared to the same period last year. Over six months, Russians purchased 1.3 billion packages. At the same time, spending in the category increased by 4.4%, exceeding RUB 406 billion (at retail prices, including VAT). The share of OTC drugs in the structure of Russian pharmaceutical retail shows a natural decline — compared to Q1–Q2 2025, it lost 2.5 percentage points and amounted to 40.3% in monetary terms, and compared to 2022 figures, it fell by more than 6 percentage points. However, in physical terms, the OTC category still dominates, with a share of 55.2% in Q1–Q2 2026 (in packages).

According to the "Retail Audit of Drug Sales in Russia (total sell out)" from the analytical company RNC Pharma, in the first half of 2026, sales of OTC drugs from 454 corporations were recorded in the Russian pharmaceutical market's retail OTC segment. In the manufacturer ranking, the domestic company Otcpharm retains the lead with a 5.1% ruble share, although compared to the same period last year, the corporation showed a 2% decline in financial performance. The leader's OTC portfolio includes 33 brands, with Pentalgin being the key one. The composition of the top five players remained unchanged over the year, while subsequent participants follow each other with minimal gaps in shares. In second place is the Nizhpharm Group (4.8% ruble share). The OTC drug assortment in this company's portfolio is one of the most extensive in retail, with 74 brands recorded during the analyzed period, and the largest share of consumer spending went to Cardiomagnyl. The top three by sales share is rounded out by Sanofi (4.1% in rubles), which represents about 20 OTC drug brands in retail.

It is noteworthy that almost all participants in the TOP-10 showed a decline in physical demand for their products. The most pronounced decline in physical volumes was recorded for Valenta: demand for its drugs decreased by 10.6%, leading to stagnation in monetary sales volume (-0.5% in rubles). This decline is driven by reduced sales of a number of the manufacturer's flagship cold treatment brands, including the Grammidin line, whose physical sales fell by 16.4% this year. At the same time, a number of the company's other products show confident growth; for example, sales of the original antihistamine drug Theoritin increased 4-fold over the year.

Conversely, significant growth in value terms among the top ten players during the reporting period was observed at Johnson & Johnson (+13% in rubles). The monetary dynamics are largely driven by such company products as Nicorette (+33%) and Microlax (+16%).

Table. TOP-10 Corporations in the OTC Drug Segment on the Russian Retail Pharmaceutical Market by Value Sales Share in Q1–Q2 2026