Russian Federation Makes Case For Pharmaceutical Investment

At the 2013 BIO International Conference the Russian Federation made its case for pharmaceutical firms to invest there, while pushing its Pharma 2020 strategy. One of the forum’s sessions, Spotlight on the BRICS: Russia, consisted of two blocks. The first focused on the role of biopharm clusters while the second was an overview of Pharma 2020.

At the opening ceremony of the Russian exposition, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Russian biopharmaceutical company Nanolek and U.S. biotechnology Lentigen. The hope is for Nanolek to become the first manufacturer of a VLP (virus-like particle)-based flu vaccine in Russia. Sergey Tsyb, Head of the Department of Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, expects the project to provide access to efficient, high-quality and affordable vaccines for Russian patients.  Nanolek would manufacture the vaccine at its production facility in Kirov, Russia.

At the opening of the Russia pavilion, Sergey Tsyb, Head of the Department of Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, made the following remarks:

“Since many technologies used in the United States and Europe haven’t been widely utilized by Russia until recently, Pharma 2020, the government’s strategy for Russian pharmaceutical development, has a strong focus on bringing Russian pharmaceutical industry in sync with existing international standards and creating an innovation-friendly environment that promotes rapid growth of the industry. We are not looking to copy what’s been developed in Europe, we are looking to innovate.”

Progress toward the vision of Pharma 2020: "In order to facilitate overall modernization and technological development, we have created six localized biopharm clusters that bring together all necessary resources such as governmental support, quality education, large pharmacy chains, well-developed distribution systems, responsive local government and technological innovation."

“It’s not enough to bring policy, investment, education and technology together; there should be balance and understanding within the governmental apparatus as well.”

“We are looking to rely on experience of our international partners to provide quality, safe drugs to Russian citizens.”

“The goal is to support the domestic innovation reaching 50 percent of localized production during the following five to seven years; we are not planning to concentrate on orphan drugs, but more common, widely used drugs that are in high demand in Russia. We want to make sure Russian citizens have access to quality medications that are affordable and adhere to current international standards. To ensure that medication stays affordable, as part of Pharma 2020 project, we are creating policy that supports local manufactures and keeps unfair competition in check.”

“Russian academia has always been strong in theoretical sciences, now we are looking to accelerate scientific discovery and development in applied sciences and hands-on training through collaborations with international partners and adopting best practices of drug development.”

Example: Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, sometimes referred to as "the Russian MIT," is one of the schools that that is becoming a center for pharmaceutical development in Russia: students here have very broad scientific knowledge, access to state of the art technology and hands-on training as part of the biopharm cluster North. "We are creating a new type of educational institution that gives theoretical knowledge combined with practical experience in biotechnology."

“This is our third year at the BIO convention and so far our experience has been very positive. We have seen a remarkable shift in opinions about pharmaceuticals in Russia in the past few years. Pharma 2020 has already become a ubiquitous term across the world.”

“We are here to facilitate new collaborations and remind our international colleagues that the Russian pharma sales environment is healthy and we are open for collaboration. Many big companies like Takeda, Pfizer, and Roche already realize Russia’s market potential and are working with many domestic biotech companies.”

“We believe that by January 1st of 2014 all domestic companies will be manufacturing according to international ‘GMP’ standards.”

“We want to demonstrate that there are many interesting companies and good specialists in Russia that worth investing in.”

"Russia’s main advantage is our fast growing economy."