Joining with a majority of the healthcare business world, many leading medtech companies are voicing their condemnation of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The most fervent public statement came from Siemens Healthineers, which "strongly condemns the invasion by Russian forces of Ukraine, a sovereign European nation, in clear violation of international law." While what may amount to finger-wagging may not equal the freeze-out of all dealings with Russia sworn to by a collective of biotech leadership, a number of medtechs are lending substantial support to the embattled nation.
Roche, for instance, has announced its donation of 150,000 packages of the antibiotic Rocephin and other essential medicines to Ukraine, while Philips and its nonprofit organization have provisioned a 24-bed mobile hospital with electrocardiographs, patient monitors, and more. Johnson & Johnson has stepped in with a $5 million donation meant to help the humanitarian efforts of the International Rescue Committee, The International Federation Red Cross, and Red Crescent, and has covered lodging and financial services for its employees in the region.
MedTech Europe noted that the effects of the war on supply chain stability are apparent. The group is continually evaluating how the rolling out of new sanctions will further disturb supply and delivery of medical devices and technologies. "Though medical devices themselves are mostly exempted from sanctions, we expect that the overall disruption to trade, finance and logistics is all negatively affecting the supply of medical technologies," the group said.
Analysts from Stifel reported that with this invasion and its resulting international sanctions, “any impact would be manageable” for large-cap medtechs. Russia accounts for 1% or less of revenues for the industry.
