Interview with Danil Blinov, country manager at Pfizer Russia
By Yekaterina Yezhova
MOSCOW, Jul 18 (PRIME) -- The U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer prefers forming partnerships with Russian pharmaceutical companies, which focus on innovative products, rather than buying into companies’ capital, Danil Blinov, country manager at Pfizer Russia, told PRIME in an interview on Wednesday.
“Pfizer implements its investment strategy through building partnerships with leading local companies in Russia in three areas -- manufacturing, education, research and development. All the areas are viewed as key for modernization of the local pharmaceutical industry,” Blinov said.
Under the government’s program to revive the pharmaceutical industry by 2025, signed by President Vladimir Putin in May, the local production of vital drugs, whose prices are controlled by the state, is to increase to 90% from the current 17% by 2018. The death rate caused by oncological and circulatory illnesses is expected to fall by 2018.
Developing the manufacturing area, Pfizer entered into an agreement in March 2011 with local medicine producer NPO Petrovax Pharm to make its pneumococcal vaccine at the Russian company’s manufacturing facility in the Moscow Region. The first commercial series will be made at the end of 2012.
Blinov said that Pfizer signed agreements with two producers of innovative and biotechnological medicines, BIOCAD and ChemRar High Tech Center. With BIOCAD, Pfizer signed a memorandum of understanding to explore opportunities to register and manufacture in Russia of a Factor VIII recombinant, a drug used for the treatment of type A hemophilia. Blinov declined to elaborate on the agreement.
Under an agreement with ChemRar High Tech Center, Pfizer is to hand over its exclusive rights to research the DPP-IVi molecule for the treatment of diabetes to ChemRar.
“On the global scale, Pfizer is prioritizing its research and development efforts in areas with the greatest scientific and commercial promise: immunology and inflammation, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and pain, and vaccines,” Blinov also said.
According to estimates of analysts and market participants, the Russian pharmaceutical market is seen to increase by 10%–16% in 2012.
Pfizer entered Russia in 1992 when the firm registered its representative unit Pfizer Russia. In 2003, Pfizer incorporated Swedish biotechnological company Pharmacia and thereby enlarged the portfolio of hospital medicines available on the Russian market.
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