Personal experience: why I didn't buy a miracle drug from Evalar pharmaceutical enterprise

And the other day, on the eve of her personal anniversary, the founder and permanent head of the company, Larisa Prokopyeva, received a medal of the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, II degree, from the hands of the Governor of Altai Territory.

Novye Izvestia tried to figure out what were the achievements of the Altai enterprise and came to unexpected conclusions.

Sergey Lvov

The coronavirus pandemic and his own pulmonary sores in the form of chronic asthma forced the author of these lines to address the topic. In search of new drugs, Yandex pointed to the Evalar website, which in turn highlighted one of the company's latest novelties - ORVIS Probiotic, designed... "for the health of the respiratory tract".

The health of the lungs and bronchi, according to Evalar, provides 1 (one) billion (!!!) probiotic organisms, which are contained in each capsule of the drug. Judging by the Instructions, for adults and children from 3 years old, it is enough to take 1 capsule per day with meals, pouring the contents into water or milk at room temperature, then stir and drink immediately. And voila! - a whole billion invisible fighters with pathogenic organisms will rush to the aid of the lungs and bronchi.

Moreover, the fighters named in Latin - Lactobacillus plantarum DR7 - will not only defeat Staphylococcus aureus in the respiratory tract, but also miraculously go down the organs of my body and ..."help to normalize the balance of intestinal microflora and strengthen the immunity".

In other words, the manufacturer assures of the triple effect of one drug.

True, for an experienced patient who is accustomed to all sorts of drugs "from doctors", I was somewhat alarmed by the too scanty Instructions for "ORVIS Probiotic". Half a page of text discharged with air does not in any way resemble detailed "brochures" in the description of modern medicines. For example, the instruction for the German spray against asthma and COPD "Spiriva Respimat". By clicking on the link, you can feel the difference - both in the style and texture of the text, and in its volume, which is an order of magnitude larger than that of the new "Evalar".

Why, ask, are there so many details in one instruction? Yes, because it is intended for doctors who prescribe a complex medical product and must accurately understand its effect.

But if "Evalar" does not report anything specific about Lactobacillus plantarum, then you have to look for information yourself about their miraculous properties and applications. Fortunately, this is easy to do. It is enough to type a search query in the same Yandex - and... And then any asthmatic will laugh until he falls from his chair from paroxysms of coughing.

It turns out that Lactobacillus plantarum (Latin Lactobacillus plantarum ) is a widespread type of gram-positive anaerobic non-spore-forming lactic acid bacteria.

Lactobacillus plantarum can be useful for patients with irritable bowel syndrome in relation to improving problems with defecation, as well as helping to reduce bloating from gas.One of the Lactobacillus plantarum strains 38 or 8P-A3 (or Lactobacillus fermentum strain) is the main active ingredient of the drug Lactobacterin, in the form of tablets or vaginal suppositories.

However, I have no problem with defecation, and equally, as a male asthmatic, I do not need vaginal suppositories.

But there is still hope that the famous domestic manufacturer "Evalar", who does not get tired of repeating about his original scientific developments, has created a new type of lactobacillus with the DR7 index - and it is this modification that heals or strengthens the lungs and bronchi.

I am typing the corresponding request in Yandex. And ...a big medical bummer again!

Lactobacillus plantarum DR7 Reduces Cholesterol via Phosphorylation of AMPK That Down-regulated the mRNA-Expression of HMPK, which suppresses the expression of HMG-CoA reductase mRNA, as stated on the Researchgate. Reductase).

Perhaps the fight to lower blood cholesterol and caring for clean lungs are somehow related to each other, but somehow it does not turn out to call the DR7 bacteria a fighter against lung infections.

But the manufacturer calls it. And even highlights this thesis in bold. This is an optimistic conclusion for patients in the "Product Description" section:

"In a clinical study conducted by the American Scientific Association (ADSA), it was shown that the use of L. plantarum DR7 in the treatment of respiratory tract infections reduces the duration of inflammation, reduces the duration and frequency of lung diseases. The study involved 109 people aged 18 up to 60 years, duration was 12 weeks2. Also L. plantarum DR7 demonstrated efficacy similar to that of antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus and pyogenic streptococcus and surpassed the effectiveness of antibiotics against pneumococcus".

In other words, the bacteria used against constipation were stronger than the antibiotics against lung infections. And this "scientific discovery" was made in just three months by observing 109 people. And at the same time, there is not a word about what has changed in the course of the disease in the subjects? Or did they get rid of chronic ailments altogether?

This is unknown. You can only check by buying ORVIS Probiotic and testing it yourself.

However, even here, not everything is clear at first glance.

The instruction for the drug recommends drinking it within three months. How much will the entire course cost?

Packing price - 995 rubles. We multiply by three months and we get 2985 rubles. Right?

And nothing of the kind! There are only 15 capsules in one package. For 15 days. And you have to drink for three months. Therefore, the final price rises to 5970 rubles (this is if you focus on the price of an online store, and not pharmacy chains, which can easily add their "fat").

Why are lactic bacteria so dear nowadays, moreover, not invented by Evalar?

In search of an answer, we study the Instructions to the very end. And the manufacturer of the drug is modestly named in it:

Manufacturer: "AB-BIOTICS, SA" Av. de la Torre Blanca, 57, Edifici Esade Creapolis, 08172 Sant Cugat del Vallés Barcelona, Spain.

Packaged / Claims Receiving Organization: CJSC "Evalar", Russia, 659332, Altai Territory, Biysk, st. Socialist, 23/6, www.evalar.ru

Thus, the famous domestic manufacturer, offering in its advertising all the power of Altai herbs, is engaged in banal packaging of the Spanish dietary supplement under its own brand "ORVIS Probiotic".

The manufacturer from Barcelona has a different name for the product:

There is one more difference. Spanish packaging contains 30 capsules. In Evalarovskaya it is half less. At the same time, the Spaniards are more honest with consumers and write directly on the box that there is a FOOD SUPPLEMENT inside. And it is impossible to confuse it with a medicine (medicine). What can not be said about the design of the Russian counterpart from "Evalar".

True, both partners are related by extremely scant information about their products. On a Spanish site, for example, in order to get MORE INFO (that is, more information about a product), you need to fill out a whole questionnaire for some reason and provide your personal data - as if it were not a publicly available product, but military secrets.

But in order to finally dispel doubts about the possibilities of the new drug "for lung health", we called the doctor of medical sciences, professor, adviser to the director of the Central Research Institute of Tuberculosis, pulmonologist Igor Stepanyan.

- A food supplement based on lactic acid bacteria cannot be called "innovative". - said the specialist. - This is basically the same as the long-known lactobacillus or linex, used to combat intestinal dysbiosis.

- Can ARVIS get into human lungs?

- No, it can not. I have not heard that lactic acid bacteria live in the human respiratory system, and even fought against Staphylococcus aureus.

- Would you use ARVIS instead of antibiotics for pneumonia or other lung diseases?

- Never! This would be the right path to the "next" world. Antibiotics are designed to kill the dreaded bacteria, and they do it. Drugs for normalizing the stomach, at best, contribute to some increase in immunity in healthy people, but they are able to fight diseases...

However, the manufacturers of dietary supplements have secrets. For example, the question is: where does Evalar register its drugs? Nezavisimaya gazeta answers unequivocally:

Evalar, as can be assumed, in recent years generally prefers to register its products not in Russia, but in Kazakhstan and Armenia - of course, within the Customs Union. Otherwise, problems may arise with the sale of products. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the products have repeatedly raised questions from consumers in Russia - many complaints can be found on the irecommend and otzovik websites. Also, questions arose to the fact that non-existent properties were attributed to products in advertising - for example, according to the FAS website, in 2019, Evalar was found guilty as an advertiser for violating the requirements of the law, since the guarantee of positive action and effectiveness “violates the ban, established by the Law on Advertising”.

To be able to sell dietary supplements on the territory of the Russian Federation, the drug must receive a certificate of state registration of the Eurasian Economic Commission. As of mid-November, the EAK Unified Register contains over 900 registration records for Evalar drugs.

It can be calculated that there are only about 300 of the total number of current state licenses in Russia, and, moreover, only 23 of them were registered in 2018-2020, and that, in general, instead of a previously issued certificate of state registration (which, in fact, is re-registration of the drug for one reason or another).

In Kazakhstan, there are almost the same number of current state registrations - 306, moreover, 76 of them were registered in 2018-2020, which may indicate that the company has changed its focus. The third state where the company's drugs were registered is Armenia, there, at the moment, there are almost 70 valid state registrations, and all of them have been registered in the last two years.

Thus, it seems that the Evalar company is gradually registering new and re-registering old drugs outside of Russia in other countries of the Customs Union. The likely reason for this is that it has become difficult to go through state registration in Russia, unlike other countries where the technical requirements are perhaps simpler. And such an approach can be a wake-up call that Russian registrars have unsolvable questions about their products".

Moreover, Evalar's secrets lie not in technology, but in business economics.

As follows from an independent audit study by Business Intelligence Team , a conventional pharmacy visitor who buys a conventional package of dietary supplements from ZAO Evalar for 100 rubles, pays for approximately the following:

· 43 rubles go to marketing, advertising, own sales network;

· 10 rubles go to the salaries of managers and the maintenance of their cozy offices;

· The company takes 25 rubles for itself in the form of profit from sales;

- The actual production of the conventional drug costs 23 rubles, and of this amount:

- 8.7 rubles goes to foreign suppliers of raw materials, mainly Chinese or Indian manufacturers of substances and ingredients;

- and only 8 rubles in the package are Russian raw materials, that is, the same conventional "Altai herbs" from the "Evalar" advertisement that has set the teeth on edge.

In the case of repackaging imported drugs, the ratio of costs will be higher towards the purchase of raw materials. But this does not change the fundamental picture: advertising costs are twice the cost of goods. To me personally, this ratio reminds me of the sad memory of herbalife, miracle mop, super-bait for fish and other bullshit from TV shops, where penny goods are sold with 10-fold profits.

It is also characteristic that for 10 years the revenue of CJSC "Evalar" has doubled. About a quarter of the revenue comes from sales profit, and in 2019 it almost reached 2 billion rubles. However, paradoxically, JSC "Evalar" pays less and less income tax every year.

As can be seen from the official accounting data of CJSC Evalar, available on the website evalar-audit.com, in different years, from 8% (2012) to 58% (2019) of sales profit was allocated to cover losses from non-core activities. In total, over these 7 years, about 4.1 billion rubles were spent to cover losses from non-core activities.

Thus, if in 2010 the company's revenue per ruble accounted for 32 kopecks of taxable profit, then in 2019 it was less than 10 kopecks, and this trend has intensified since at least 2014, independent experts say.

JSC "Evalar" is included in TOP-10 largest taxpayers of the Altai Territory , and its leadership receives orders from the hands of the governor, not at all worried about taxes falling out of the treasury.

Perhaps this is because the son of Larisa Prokopyeva, Alexander, is a State Duma deputy who has already twice been elected to parliament from the Altai Territory with the support of the United Russia party. MP Prokopiev has a solid reputation major, mod, instagrammer and lover of expensive watches . He was in 2012 in the Forbes rating as one of the richest officials and deputies in Russia . Since then, its financial position has obviously only strengthened, but the taxable base of CJSC Evalar, on the contrary, has decreased.

PS

The author of this material was tormented to the last by the thought - in what other product did he meet those same wonderful bacteria that normalize the stomach, reduce gas formation, normalize metabolism and thereby improve the immunity of the whole organism?

Eureka! Remembered!

This product is the most common and familiar kefir (traditional fermented dairy in Russia and CIS) since the childhood! Well, a bunch of his fermented milk counterparts - yoghurts, biokefirs and bioyogurts, Ayran, Tan, Matsoni...

With an average price of kefir of 70 rubles per liter - for 6 thousand rubles you can buy about 90 liters of the drink, which will last about 200 days.

And, by the way, thanks to anti-sanctions, domestic producers, including brotherly Belarus, provide us with fresh kefir. To do this, you do not need to drive trucks to Catalonia, and then from Barcelona - to the distant Siberian Biysk, where the "Evalara" factory is located.