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Technological Sovereignty of the EAEU: Successes and Potential of the National Pharma Industry

Technological Sovereignty of the EAEU: Successes and Potential of the National Pharma Industry

The session ‘Technological Sovereignty of the EAEU: Successes and Potential of the National Pharma Industry’ was held as part of the Drug Security Forum, which kicked off the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The event was attended by Russian Deputy Minister of Health Sergey Glagolev, Head of the Science and Education Development Department of the Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency under the Uzbek Ministry of Health Aziz Dusmatov, Geropharm General Director Petr Rodionov, BIOCAD General Director Dmitry Morozov, Active Component President Alexander Semenov, Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Executive Director Vladimir Shipkov, Eurasian Economic Commission Industrial Policy Department Director Nikolay Kushnarev, and Chairman of the Board of the Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Stanislav Naumov, among others.

“We entered the pandemic, facing an infection that could not be controlled by pharmacology. Thanks to a set of measures to urgently reformat both the regulatory environment and the pharmaceutical industry, we have our own range of drugs that are used at all stages of therapy, from antiviral drugs to vaccines. We have gained extensive experience in creating innovative products. All this happened in the run-up to the full entry into force of the Eurasian rules, which are very progressive and focus on the availability of innovative drugs. In the post-COVID era, our focus will be on innovative biotechnology-based drugs, including gene therapy, as well as anti-infectious drugs and vaccines,” Russian Deputy Minister of Health Sergey Glagolev said.

The common rules for the circulation of drugs and medical products for members of the EAEU – Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan – came into effect in May 2017. By 2025, a common drug and medical products market will be created in the five EAEU countries; by that time the rules for the manufacture and sale of drugs and medical products should be completely standardized.

“Our goal is to create comfortable conditions for our pharmaceutical companies, in which they can develop in a sustained manner and offer consumers modern innovative products. We have extensive scientific potential for this. Pharmaceutical companies need to be incentivized to roll out original domestic products on the market, even though such work entails certain risks. For this, it is essential to create conditions that allow manufacturers to be confident in the future. In particular, to provide them with guarantees for the sale of manufactured medicines, the list of which will be determined at the interstate level. Compiling a list of strategic medicines whose production must be ensured in the Union will create a stable sales market for companies and also ensure the drug security of our countries in the most vital areas of pharmaceuticals,” Chairman of the Board of the EAEU Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Stanislav Naumov said.

Preparation of the EAEU Action Plan (Programme) for manufacturing medical products has been under way since 2020. This includes a plan to implement measures for stimulating manufacture of drugs and medical products in the EAEU, among them subsidies and tariff regulations, as well as government procurement support. This plan is aimed at synchronizing activities of the EAEU members on issues of support for their own pharma industries.

The session participants discussed the contribution and potential of Russian manufacturing in EAEU countries for development of the industry, what successful experience of EAEU members’ protectionist policy can be highlighted as related to measures for support of the national pharma industry in government bidding, how the production of strategically important drugs must be ensured on full-cycle principle in the EAEU, among other issues.

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