AstraZeneca paid £45m to doctors in Russia since war began, 27 December 2024

AstraZeneca, Britain’s most valuable public company, has made about £45 million in payments to doctors and healthcare organisations in Russia since the war against Ukraine, despite the UK’s growing involvement.

The Cambridge-based company made payments of about £24.4 million in 2022, when Moscow invaded, and £20.6 million in 2023, analysis by The Times of company data issued in Russian shows.

A significant part of the money was spent on planning or conducting studies and trials in Russia but sums were also spent on consultancy fees, donations, grants and sponsorship, such as hosting scientific events, according to the data.

The payments compare to about £6.7 million made by GSK, Britain’s other big pharma company, in Russia in 2022, which fell to £2.6 million last year.

Big western multinationals across sectors have pulled out of Russia since the war and counter sanctions were imposed amid pressure from campaigners. Recently they include Unilever, which sold its Russian subsidiary to a local manufacturing group in October after repeated criticism...

Andrii Onopriienko, who leads the Leave Russia project at the Kyiv School of Economics, which keeps track of foreign companies operating in Russia, said: “It is neither acceptable nor justifiable for major UK pharmaceutical multinationals to continue operating in Russia while the UK actively supports Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression.

“In the face of a brutal war, their continued presence and financial contributions to the Russian economy stand in stark contrast to the UK’s political, military and moral support of Ukraine.”

In response to a series of questions about AstraZeneca’s Russian operating policy, including whether it operates on a commercial basis and promotes its medicines in the country, a spokesman said: “To offer patients access to the latest essential and life-saving medicines from our growing portfolio, and in line with local regulatory requirements, we support a limited number of clinical trials in order for new medicines to be registered in the country.”

The payments are separate from the sales the companies generate in Russia and are disclosed under a code of the trade organisation the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations.

Group accounts filed in the UK by AstraZeneca and the London-based GSK do not detail their financial performance in Russia.

GSK, which has kept its position in Russia under review since the war, continues to supply medicines such as HIV and respiratory drugs and several vaccines to the country and employs 180 people in Russia, where it has a Moscow office. It says, however, that it has stopped promotional activities in Russia and profits are used to support “global humanitarian and health security initiatives”.

It has also committed itself not to start any new clinical trials or to enrol new patients into existing studies. It also says that it complies with global sanctions and has “taken a precautionary approach to stop, to the fullest extent possible, any direct involvement and support to the Russian government and military”.

There is no suggestion of any breach of sanctions by either company...