Joint meeting of Russian State Duma committees took place within Russian Healthcare Week

The joint offsite Meeting of the Russian State Duma Committee on Health Protection and the Russian State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs took place within Russian Healthcare Week 2025.

The meeting was dedicated to the development of science and the introduction of innovative developments in the field of health protection and priorities of state policy. The participants focused on the issues of improving state support for research, the introduction of innovative medical technologies in practical healthcare, as well as the interaction of the state, the professional community, and business.

Sergey Leonov, Chair at the Healthcare Committee of the Russian State Duma, stressed that according to opinion polls, the topic of healthcare and the quality of medical care remains the main demand of Russian citizens. He recalled the decisions taken aimed at improving the quality of medical education and tightening the requirements for licensing educational activities, as well as legislative initiatives on targeted training and mentoring, which are designed to strengthen the human resources of the healthcare system. He also noted that the decision to hold a meeting within Russian Healthcare Week was due to the fact that developers and manufacturers of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals meet here, and the committee is already working on draft laws related to the development of research and technology in practical healthcare.

Yaroslav Nilov, Head at the Committee on Labour, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs, focused on the relationship between healthcare and the social agenda. He recalled the upcoming draft laws, including voluntary social insurance for the self-employed in case of temporary disability and additional measures to support people with disabilities, and also called for specific proposals for further legislative work following the meeting.

Tatiana Semenova, Russian Deputy Minister of Health, thanked the committees for the systematic support of the ministry's initiatives and stressed that over the past ten years there had been a steady increase in funding for healthcare and the state guarantee programme, which has expanded citizens' access to advanced pharmaceuticals and treatment methods and led to a reduction in mortality from cardiovascular diseases. She spoke about the results of systematic work to improve the effectiveness of medical science and accelerate the introduction of innovations. The focus is on shortening the path from laboratory development to clinical application, developing medical technology transfer centers, working with intellectual property, and shaping priorities for medical science in the context of the national goal of technological leadership.

Ekaterina Priezzheva, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, noted that the development of medical innovations was possible only with constant, seamless cooperation between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. She outlined new measures to support developers and manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, including special tools for financing clinical trials and programs to support startups and small innovative companies in medtech.

Dmitry Pavlyukov, Deputy Head of Roszdravnadzor, focused on the development of mechanisms for accelerated registration of Russian medical products and the creation of flexible regulatory tracks that allow faster market launch of effective and safe Russian technologies, including ones made in the field of artificial intelligence and diagnostics.

During the meeting, key conditions for the development of medical science and innovation were discussed such as improving the quality of medical education and human resources, improving the system of social support and insurance, removing barriers between science, industry and healthcare, regulatory mechanisms for accelerated market launch of Russian developments, and support for manufacturers in the long innovation cycle.

The joint meeting of the State Duma committees became one of the key events of the Week’s conference programme and confirmed the role of Russian Healthcare Week as one of the central platforms for discussing priorities of state policy in the field of health protection and the development of medical science.

Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO