Emergency Contraceptive Crisis: Mifepristone Disappears from Russian Pharmacies

Emergency contraceptives and medical abortion medications have nearly vanished from the shelves of pharmacies in Russia, following the implementation of stricter regulations on mifepristone, as reported by the investigative outlet Vyorstka on Wednesday.

The regulation, introduced by the Health Ministry amid a nationwide demographic crisis and historically low birth rates, has significantly restricted public access to various contraceptive options.

Under the new regulations, which came into effect in September 2024, mifepristone has been categorized on Russia’s official List of Regulated Substances, placing it alongside potent hormonal and psychotropic drugs.

Patients are now required to present a special prescription form typically needed for highly controlled substances to access mifepristone. Additionally, pharmacies must record every sale involving this medication and report the transactions to the federal medical oversight agency, Roszdravnadzor.

Two commonly used emergency contraceptives that contain mifepristone, namely Jenale and Ginepriston, have completely disappeared from pharmacy inventories, Vyorstka reported.

Searches in the online catalogs of major pharmacy chains, such as Gorzdrav, Eapteka, and Apteki.ru, indicate that no mifepristone-based products are available for purchase. Rigla, one of the largest pharmacy networks, lists the medications but shows them as out of stock.

Representatives from six major pharmacy chains confirmed to Vyorstka the nationwide lack of mifepristone but were unable to clarify the cause of the supply disruption or provide information regarding when restocking might occur.

Mifepristone is a key ingredient in several important reproductive health medications.

A standard 10-milligram dose is often prescribed for emergency contraception, while the 200-milligram dose is utilized for medical abortions, which have historically been confined to hospital settings under medical supervision.

The shortage seems to extend beyond retail supplies. In March, the business daily Kommersant reported that shipments of both mifepristone and misoprostol, another medication used for medical abortions, to Russian hospitals had dropped by one-third in 2024.

Pharmaceutical industry data from RNC Pharma cited by Kommersant revealed that only 636,300 packages were delivered to medical facilities that year, a decrease from 938,000 in 2023, marking the lowest consumption levels recorded to date.