SCHOTT solutions no. 2/2011 > Pharmaceutical Packaging

Photo: SCHOTT/A. Matjuschetschkin

Russia on its Way to »Pharma 2020«


SCHOTT is devoted to helping Russian pharmaceutical companies achieve their ambitious goals through its expertise in the area of packaging, high commitment to quality, but also by manufacturing locally.


Sabrina Winter

Agrowing number of private health insurance companies, positive developments in the area of reimbursement regulations and improvements in the training of doctors have brought the Russian pharmaceutical market double digit growth rates in recent years. Russia has thus grown to become one of the so-called ”Pharmerging Markets”, a group of upcoming pharmaceutical markets that also includes countries like China, India and Brazil. According to IMS Health, a global consulting firm on the pharmaceutical and health care industry, these markets offer so many opportunities and such huge growth potential that no company can afford to ignore them.

The progress and growth of the Russian pharmaceutical ­market are also receiving support at the political level. The ­government adopted a strategy program called ”Pharma 2020” that is expected to contribute to the development of the pharmaceutical and medical industry of the Russian Federation through 2020. This governmental program that can be divided into three phases includes, among other things, plans for better health care for the entire population, improved training of ­doctors by offering new educational opportunities, improving the international competitiveness of the domestic pharma­ceutical industry and encouraging the development and production of innovative medications. A quick glance at the planned spending and one can see that the focus is mainly on this last point. ­Pharma 2020 calls for spending around 188 billion rubles over the next ten years, 80 percent of which is to be invested toward research and the development of new products. Its initiators are hoping to increase the share of domestic production in the volume of the medication market that is currently about 20 percent to 50 percent by 2020. The respective ministries for industry and trade feel it should be possible to produce ­90 percent of all vital medications inside the country already by 2015.
Production lines equipped with modern manufacturing technology and thorough quality control measures ensure that all of the products meet the high international standards for primary pharmaceutical packaging. Photo: SCHOTT/A. Matjuschetschkin
In addition to strengthening its own domestic pharmaceutical industry, Russia is also trying to convince foreign companies to manufacture inside the country. And, in fact, the Russian government has been able to achieve initial successes in this area. The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis took over the existing manufacturing sites of Bioton-Wostok when it acquired this insulin manufacturer. The Swiss company ­Nycomed built a completely new plant in Yaroslavl, about 300 kilometers north-east of Moscow. The American manufacturer Johnson & Johnson decided to enter the Russian market by way of licensed manufacturing and is having its HIV protease inhibitor manufactured by the Russian manufacturer Pharmstandard.

The British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, on the other hand, has chosen to take the route of sharing production. A joint injection production facility is being established together with Binnofarm, a subsidiary of afk-Sistema. The Swiss company Novartis has announced the largest investment thus far. Among other things, the company is planning to invest 500 million dollars in Russia in a manufacturing site for brand generics and pharmaceuticals in Saint Petersburg over the next five years. 1.5 billion units of medications are ex‑ pected to leave the belts in the Special Economic Zone of Novo- Orlovskaya by 2014. Companies like Biokad, Samson-Med, Gerofarm and Farm-Holding are planning to set up operations in the industrial area of “Pushkinskaya” which the city of Saint Petersburg has made available for this specific purpose. As all of these developments show, Russia is seriously interested in internationalizing its pharmaceutical market and has therefore ­decided to create the right type of climate for investments.

Closer to Russian customers thanks to new pharma­ceutical manufacturing facility


These positive trends are also having a similar effect on the packaging market. High-quality primary pharmaceutical packaging made of glass, in particular, is meeting with high demand that is constantly on the rise. SCHOTT Pharmaceutical Packaging elected to establish a production site of its own for ampoules and vials in order to be able to meet this demand even better and more quickly than before. The company decided to open a site in Zavolzhe, a small city located north-west of Nizhny Novgorod. Besides how close it is to Moscow, this region has a solid infrastructure and is already home to many experts. Due to the fact that a SCHOTT production site for flat glass is ­already located in the region, this opens up opportunities to explore internal synergy effects.
Up to 600 million ampoules and vials made of glass are manufactured each year in Zavolzhe on a total of 5,300 square meters of floor space. Photo: SCHOTT/A. Matjuschetschkin
The new plant was built inside of 15 months on 5,300 square meters of land that the company had been renting inside its existing production grounds in Zavolzhe. In addition to modernizing its current production hall, this also had to be modified to meet new pharmaceutical production requirements. Here, several production lines were installed and the necessary approvals were acquired. With respect to technology and quality, the company follows the global standards that apply for pharmaceutical manufacturing sites at SCHOTT.

These include modern systems and machines, well-trained, qualified employees and meeting the respective guidelines for quality assurance in manufacturing medications, active ingredients and medical products. The plant in Zavolzhe officially opened at the end of May, 2011. In the meantime, the site is already supplying its customers in Russia and other CIS countries with ampoules and vials. Customers not only benefit from the high quality of these SCHOTT products, but also from the fact that the company is based much closer to its customers. Shorter routes and fewer barriers allow for local needs to be met even better than in the past. <|
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