Interview with Denis Remenyako, General Director of FC Grand Capital, to the Regions of Russia portal

 – What is happening in the pharmaceutical industry in general now, and what impact has the departure of Western companies had on the industry?

– Speaking objectively, not all Western manufacturers have left the Russian pharmaceutical market. The more interesting question is: what stopped those who remained? 

The answer is that over the past few years, Russian manufacturers have qualitatively changed their approach to work: the introduction of advanced production technologies, the development and launch of new drugs, improving product quality - all these criteria have significantly increased the number of Russian drugs both on pharmacy shelves and in the segment government supplies. The remaining Western manufacturers realized that if they leave the Russian market now, it will be quite difficult to return later and displace domestic companies.

Objectively, we cannot influence our foreign partners, and if someone has decided to leave Russia, I am sure that our manufacturers will be able to quickly replace them. The main way to solve the problem of drug safety in Russia today is to learn to produce the majority of medicines within the country. And this task is being successfully solved today.

– Maybe we should expect help from Asia?

– I believe that today the competencies of Russian pharmaceutical manufacturers in terms of production, promotion and distribution are higher than Asian ones. Therefore, the most correct approach for Asian companies, in my opinion: when entering the Russian pharmaceutical market, enter into integration and find ways to interact with Russian partners. This approach has more potential and benefits for both businesses and consumers.

– Is it possible, in your opinion, to establish full production of all medicines in Russia?

– This task in itself is real. But there is one important question here: where to produce the substances for the manufacture of these very drugs. This task must be put at the forefront. We see that the Ministry of Industry and Trade in procurement, introducing new preferences for drugs made from Russian substances, began a trend towards import substitution.

I am confident that the state will continue to provide support to Russian manufacturers who are expanding the variety of substances produced, and as a result, increasing the range of drugs produced.

– Are there now manufacturers of substances in our country that are capable of at least partially meeting the state’s needs? How is the situation going here?

– It is more correct to ask this question to the manufacturers. But now the number of substances produced in Russia is growing from year to year. And this is the result, I believe, of the correct policy of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. For example, the implemented “The Third Wheel” program for medicines has become an incentive for many companies to localize their production in the Russian Federation, which, in turn, gives new preferences for substances. The development of such initiatives is stimulated by obvious advantages in the format of building drug supply, and rightly so. But we must understand that this is not a quick story, since the production of substances is a complex process both technologically and economically.

– How would you outline the main priorities of the company’s work in the current conditions? And what would you say is the most important thing for your business today?

– The priority of the FC Grand Capital company is to meet people’s needs for medicines. The main task is to ensure stable supplies throughout the country in a changing situation. It doesn’t matter to us who the end user is – a pharmacy or a medical institution. We understand that we are equally responsible to everyone. To do this, we must have competencies in all areas and we pay special attention to this. We are currently working on the supply of unregistered medicines. Here we are still taking the first steps to obtain permission from the Ministry of Health to import medicines that have ceased to be supplied to the Russian Federation.We are gradually accumulating this experience and understand that in the future this will minimize the risks of drug shortages if foreign manufacturers continue to leave the Russian market. The uniqueness of the FC Grand Capital company is that we continuously search for and find solutions to increase our competencies both in the commercial segment and in the direction of government supplies, thereby ensuring the availability of necessary medicines for Russian citizens.

– What changes have occurred in the company over the past year? And how will they help ensure the country's drug safety?

– I would specify this as follows: our task is to be prepared for the challenges that the state may identify, and for the needs that our country may have. To do this, we must have experience in purchasing under direct contracts, experience in purchasing unregistered drugs under special permits from the Ministry of Health. In addition, we must have experience in all types of government supplies for all nosologies, as well as prompt supply of commercial clients. We are now actively increasing all this.This year, a large team (more than 100 people) was created to deal with government supplies. Without embellishment, I will say that this area is quite complex. This year we decided to strengthen the team in this area. And I believe that we have hired the best specialists in this market who are now working as part of our company. This allowed us to advance and dramatically increase our competencies in working with the government.

– What other solutions do you think could speed up the process of ensuring drug safety in Russia?

– Last year, after the well-known events began, the Ministry of Industry and Trade gathered all the key distributors. The meeting participants exchanged views on how to support the market and prevent panic. A number of support mechanisms have been developed which have greatly helped the industry. My opinion is that such events should be held regularly. Not only when something happens, but also during normal times. This will help quickly and effectively resolve many issues, including those related to the stability of drug supplies.

– When will we be able to achieve complete drug safety in the country? What parting words would you give to domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers?

– Over the past few years, our country has faced difficult challenges, but these challenges have become a serious incentive for development, including the pharmaceutical industry. Domestic manufacturers have picked up a good pace of development, which in two or three years will give us a real opportunity to become as independent as possible from foreign supplies. And if we resolve the issue with substances, then I think we can return to the level of the Soviet Union, when a strong country was the main supplier of medicines in the world. Now nothing prevents us from doing this. The main thing is to act!

More details: https://www.gosrf.ru/denis-remenyako-chtoby-obespechit-lekarstvennuyu-bezopasnost-strany-neobhodimo-...