Promomed Group at SPIEF. Day 2: «The course for innovation»

The company's speakers began the second day of SPIEF 2022 with a discussion on the track «Healthy Society» of the responsibility of the pharmaceutical industry to customers, innovations at the Soviet-era plant and import substitution issues: Petr Bely, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Promomed Group, Dmitry Zemskov, Executive Director of the Biokhimik JSC (member of Promomed Group) and Kira Zaslavskaya, Director for New Products at Promomed Group.

At the session «The course for innovation and support of the Russian manufacturer», representatives of the government, business and science formulated current proposals on measures of state support for the industry. The participants outlined innovative solutions and strategies that will allow Russian pharmaceutical and medical companies to take the lead, presented examples of effective interaction between investors, business and regulators in the new economic conditions.

Assessing the current increased responsibility of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, Petr Belyreminded that the understanding that the industry can rely only on its own resources appeared three years ago. Thanks to this, the solutions, tools, innovations and products developed to combat COVID-19 in Russia have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, ensured the country's drug supply security and in many aspects outstripped similar developments abroad.

Noting the importance and timeliness of state support measures for the industry, Petr Belystressed the need to refrain from the pursuit of import substitution: «We don’t need to turn the domestic market into the market of generics. We need to focus on unique promising developments in cooperation with the state and scientific centers.»

The expert believes that the firm support and protection of intellectual rights is an important element to guarantee return on investment in the developments.

Dmitry Zemskovanswered the moderator 's question about the possibility for a plant with a sixty - year history to be innovative: «The Biokhimik plant was the first to produce penicillin in the last century, was a leader in the production of substances, antibiotics. But the crisis of the 1990s hit the entire industry. The enterprise practically laid in ruins. In fact, we have created a new production facility and continue to develop it. As an example, today the modernization of tablet line has already a third generation. We have re-created microbiological synthesis, created the latest antibiotics, revived chemical synthesis and synthesis of substances. As a result, Biokhimik develops and produces modern, innovative domestic drugs every year. Our renewed team is young. We are innovating on a new platform with a rich history and rich traditions.»