State Audit Finds Inefficiency in Russian Impotence Drug Project

The Scientific Center for Biomedical Technologies of Russia's Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) is implementing a project to establish a scientific and clinical laboratory with a breeding facility for musk deer. The initiative aims to create a full production cycle for domestic medicines derived from animal musk, including treatments for erectile dysfunction.

The Accounts Chamber of Russia conducted an audit of the project's implementation and described the results as disappointing. The findings were formally reported to President Vladimir Putin.

"The Accounts Chamber has concluded that federal budget funds allocated to the project were used inefficiently,” said Sergey Mamedov, an auditor of the Accounts Chamber.

A Project Nearly a Decade in the Making

The project was launched in 2016 following a direct instruction from the Russian president. It envisioned the construction of a musk deer breeding facility in the Altai Republic and the reconstruction of laboratory facilities in the Moscow Region. Both sites were originally scheduled to be commissioned in 2020.

In reality, the breeding facility began operating only in 2024, while the laboratory remains unfinished. Officials initially claimed the project would provide a powerful and rapid boost to the biotechnology sector. Plans also included the development of a domestic drug named Muskuliv intended to treat erectile dysfunction.

Costs Rise, Deadlines Missed

The original budget for the project was set at 1.5 billion rubles. Due to prolonged delays, the final cost increased to 2.4 billion rubles, according to Accounts Chamber data as of November 1, 2025. Between 2017 and 2025, approximately one billion rubles from the federal budget were spent on the development and clinical trials of Muskuliv alone.

Numerous Violations Identified

The Accounts Chamber has been overseeing the project on behalf of the president and has repeatedly recorded missed construction deadlines and overall low efficiency. In March 2025, the Scientific Center terminated its contract with Directorate of Construction Projects JSC due to improper performance. A new contract was signed in June with Regionsoyuz LLC, which was supposed to complete the work by November 15, 2025. This deadline was also missed.

"As of November 1, 2025, construction readiness stood at 96 percent, while technical readiness was only 74 percent. There are significant risks that the laboratory will not be completed on time,” Mamedov said.

Auditors also identified serious internal violations. The Center extended construction deadlines by two years and five months without proper justification, failed to recover an unused advance payment of 239.4 million rubles from the first contractor, and did not collect penalties totaling 17.4 million rubles.

Drug Development Raises Further Questions

The audit revealed that Muskuliv was developed using musk purchased from third parties rather than sourced from the newly built breeding facility. Clinical trials were conducted in private medical institutions instead of FMBA federal clinical centers. Despite substantial public spending, the right to register and manufacture the drug is planned to be transferred to Bryntsov-A JSC.

Additionally, the Center unilaterally replaced three planned medicines with dietary supplements and, together with FMBA, revised the number of musk deer and the projected volume of musk extraction. As a result, once the facility reaches full capacity in 2029, musk production is expected to be only half of what was originally planned.