Biopharmaceutical Plant Opens in Russia

R-Pharm has celebrated the opening of its biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Yaroslavl, Russia. Equipped with GE Healthcare’s FlexFactory platform the facility will support mass production of biologics and biosimilars focused on treating autoimmune diseases and cancer and allowing for increased access to these critical therapies for patients in the region.
 

Representatives from R-Pharm, including Vasily ignatyev, CEO, R-Pharm Russia and Andrei Demurin, Head of GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences division in Russia, were joined by representatives of Russian Ministries of Public Health and Industry and Trade, Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare, as well as by the regional government in Yaroslavl to officially open the facility on September 21^st.
 

Sergey Tsyb, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, said: "Modern technologies have an important role to play for Russian biopharmaceutical companies developing new products within the national Pharma-2020 program. Opening of a new biopharma production platform, such as R-Pharm’s FlexFactory, shows that we have the right targets and milestones in place and that companies are helping us to reach the objectives that we have set in the program.”
 

“Since we started implementing the program, a large number of the major foreign biopharmaceutical companies made the decision to manufacture within Russia and as a result, the share of pharmaceuticals made locally has gone from 4% in 2009 to 35% in 2015. I’m certain that the opening of the new production platform by R-Pharm will be a further catalyst for continued growth,” said Olga Kolotilova, Head of Department of Development of Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry for Ministry for Industry and Trade, Russian Federation.
 

Vasilii Ignatiev, CEO, R-Pharm Russia, said: "We are pleased to announce the opening of our FlexFactory that will be used to produce biopharmaceuticals for treatment of autoimmune and oncological diseases. There is an increasing need for new treatment methods which is highlighting the necessity to develop new biopharmaceuticals and improve diagnostics and treatment.”