Today’s realities in the development of local and contract manufacturing

The representatives of pharmaceutical companies met at the forum of the Adam Smith Institute where they shared their views on the development of local and contract manufacturing.

Victor Dmitriev, General Director of the Association of Russian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, said that Russian manufacturers continue to consider the quality of their products as the most important issue.

“This is a category that has no boundaries. The issue of collaboration between the business community and the state is very important here. In our case, the state is both the regulator and a player. It is the state that carries out the tremendous amount of procurement. So, it is important to find a right balance in this area. After all, this aspect affects both the localization of processes and investments in Russia.”

In response to a question about the essence of processes in the pharmaceutical industry, Irina Bernstein, Business Development Director, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia & CIS at Condair, advised players not to save on little things.

“The state wants to establish a strong and competitive industry capable of manufacturing pharmaceutical products for consumers. In the face of challenges, a way out could be provided by non-standard solutions, and people in Russia know how to find them. Today, Russia has created unique opportunities for implementation of such solutions, and this is the reason why many specialists who left Russia in the 1990s now come back and successfully introduce modern international practices in the Russian pharmaceutical industry.”

Ms. Bernstein said that, currently, the market provides good opportunities for combining international experience and original local ideas.

Speaking about local manufacturing, Andrey Odabashian, Head of Legal Services to Pharmaceutical Companies, PwC, said that the number of foreign companies localizing their manufacturing in Russia is increasing every year.

“This is primarily associated with measures to support the Russian manufacturers. The most popular method of localization is contract manufacturing at the Russian facilities, as it requires less time and financial investments which, in turn, has a positive impact on creation of new jobs, development of production facilities and investment potential of the industry,” added Andrey Odabashian.