Technological sovereignty in providing Russian healthcare with medicines discussed in Saransk

On October 5, a visiting meeting of the Commission of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) on pharmaceutical and medical industry, health industry, physical culture and sports and the Committee of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) on entrepreneurship in healthcare and the medical industry took place in Saransk. The meeting was attended by the heads of RSPP and CCI, the Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Mordovia, as well as major representatives of the domestic pharmaceutical industry.

During the meeting, the participants discussed topical issues of the pharmaceutical industry, including the achievement of technological sovereignty in providing healthcare with medicines and the development of domestic production of low-tonnage chemicals. Also, much attention was paid to concrete steps to develop full-cycle manufacture of drugs, pharmaceutical substances and to ensure the country's pharmaceutical security.

The event was chaired by Yuri Kalinin, Chairman of the RSPP Commission on Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry, President of the Rosmedprom Association. In particular, at the meeting he said: “For the first time we are holding a meeting in Mordovia. The meeting followed the appeal of the Head of Mordovia Artem Zdunov to the President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. We responded because Mordovia is famous for its historical traditions in the development of the pharmaceutical industry, and also has advanced technologies in the production of antibiotics (about 300 trade names are included in the list of vital medicines). The pharmaceutical industry of the republic is moving towards new frontiers with great strides; Mordovian University provides qualified personnel for this industry.”

Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) took part in the meeting via video conferencing. In his greeting he noted a success in coordination of operation of pharmaceutical enterprises under sanctions and mentioned that the proposals and recommendations made at today's meeting will form the basis of measures to implement the strategy for the development of the pharmaceutical industry until 2030. “Now our priority is to ensure the pharmaceutical independence and national security of the Russian Federation through the production of strategically significant, domestic original drugs,” Shokhin added.

The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Sergey Katyrin thanked the leadership of Mordovia for the high level of organization of work, and also noted the merits of domestic manufacturers, thanks to which there was no shortage in the pharmaceutical market during the period of sanctions pressure. “Mordovia is famous for its pharmaceutical industry, its enterprises operate at the highest level,” he added.

“Pharmaceuticals has always been and will be one of the leading industries in our republic. A great contribution to saving lives and preserving the health of millions of people is made by the Biokhimik company of the Promomed Group, which is one of the largest manufacturers of medicines in Russia. Biokhimik specializes in the development and production of innovative drugs. In March this year, a factory for the production of active pharmaceutical substances was opened at the Biokhimik plant in Saransk, the opening ceremony was attended by the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Today, the company's portfolio includes more than 300 names of medicines, of which 80% are on the list of vital medicines,”said Dmitry Pozdnyakov, Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Mordovia. He also said that the Government of Mordovia, together with Promomed Group and the University of Mordovia, has developed a project to create the Mordovian Federal Center for the Development of Biotechnologies – a unique platform for works that were previously made abroad. This center will ensure the full cycle of production of new biotechnological drugs in the Russian Federation and guarantee the pharmaceutical security of Russia, and the development of its technological and export potential.

“Being the largest pharmaceutical enterprise in the region, our Biokhimik plant is technologically fully ready to support and develop the innovative potential of such an area as domestic healthcare and ensure the pharmaceutical security of our country. We are convinced that along with the task of import substitution, we also have more important and larger goals, for example, stimulating the development and production of original domestic drugs of the highest quality. We also need to keep in focus the maximum possible use of export potential of the Russian pharmaceutical industry, which has all the prerequisites to become a confident source of income at the national level in the very near future,” Petr Bely, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said in his speech.

Other participants in the visiting meeting were: Dmitry Galkin, Director of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry Development of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, Elena Astapenko, Director of the Department of Regulation of the Circulation of Medicines and Medical Devices of the Ministry of Health of Russia, Galina Lotvanova, First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Mordovia, Igor Gubaidullin, Minister of Industry, Science and New Technologies of the Republic of Mordovia, Oleg Markin, Minister of Health of the Republic of Mordovia, Valery Sergienko, Chairman of the Russian CCI Committee on Entrepreneurship in Healthcare and Medical Industry, Viktor Cherepov, Chairman of the Commission of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry, Health Industry, Physical Culture and Sports, Dmitry Saversky, President of the All-Russian Nonprofit Organization “Patient Defenders League”, and Rinat Raimov, Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Mordovia.

At the end of the meeting, the participants visited the Biokhimik plant, the Promomed Group’s production site. They got acquainted with the company's production facilities and were able to evaluate not only the areas for the production of finished pharmaceutical products, but also the ultra-modern production of active pharmaceutical substances launched in March this year with the participation of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. All the guests highly appreciated the level of technological equipment of the plant and the contribution of Promomed Group to ensuring the country's pharmaceutical security.