In Mordovia, a full‑cycle production of drugs for rare diseases will be established
At the St. Petersburg Forum, Artem Zdunov, Head of Mordovia, and Pyotr Bely, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Promomed PJSC, took part in signing an agreement between the Industry Development Fund (IDF) and the Biokhimik plant, which is part of the Promomed Group of Companies. The document on granting a льготный loan (preferential loan) to Biokhimik for establishing production of medicines for rare (orphan) diseases was signed by Roman Petrutsa, Director of the IDF, and Alexander Efremov, General Director of Promomed PJSC.
The agreement provides for the establishment of small‑batch production of five medicinal products. These drugs are of critical importance for the needs of doctors and patients in the treatment of rare (orphan) diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, short bowel syndrome, and basal cell carcinoma. The production capacity will reach up to 47 thousand packages per year.
“Today, pharmaceuticals are a key element of a country’s sovereignty. For Mordovia, developing the production of high‑tech drugs is not just another industrial initiative, but a strategically important direction that affects the well‑being of the population and the country’s independence,” emphasised Artem Zdunov, Head of Mordovia. “Implementing such important projects becomes possible thanks to the support mechanisms of the Industry Development Fund — today they are in high demand among enterprises. Mordovia’s manufacturers have already attracted 9.2 billion rubles from the federal IDF for investment projects, having invested another 9.5 billion rubles into them.”
Roman Petrutsa said that the IDF has financed more than 2 160 projects of industrial enterprises in nearly 80 regions of Russia: “Over 1 560 different companies have become clients of the Fund. We appreciate it when our borrowers come back with new ideas and plans — this is the best assessment of our programmes’ effectiveness. One such example is Biokhimik. Earlier, we supported two projects of the enterprise with 2.3 billion rubles. Now we are providing 940 million rubles to organise full‑cycle production of new medicines — from pharmaceutical substances to finished medicinal products. The total budget of the project will amount to 1.4 billion rubles.”
“In Russia, the needs of patients with rare (orphan) diseases are still unmet. At the same time, modern medicine is increasingly shifting towards individualised therapy, which has proven its effectiveness in treating a wide range of nosologies. Both areas share a common technological need for small‑batch drug production. However, such industrial capacity has been practically absent in our country. As a result, patients depend on foreign manufacturers that have set up niche production. In the current geopolitical conditions, such dependence cannot always guarantee stable supplies. Moreover, foreign drugs are highly expensive. Our task is to ensure the broadest possible accessibility of therapy,” noted Pyotr Bely, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Promomed PJSC.
Source: Press Service of the Head of the Republic of Mordovia