Springboard in India

Russia’s Akrikhin and India’s M. J. Biopharm will develop and manufacture cancer drugs in India in addition to expanding their TB product line, Akrikhin said in a statement. M. J. Biopharm Director of Marketing in Russia, Migran Babayan, confirmed the report.

An Akrikhin spokesman said the company was planning to introduce its cancer drugs in 2013 once it obtains exclusive rights to marketing generic drugs in Russia under its own brand names.

The partners have not disclosed what International Nonproprietary Names (INN) are involved. Some of the medicines mentioned in the agreement are on Russia’s list of strategically important drugs (therefore they must be produced locally — RIR), Akrikhin pointed out. Most of the 57 INNs on this list have been included in the state procurement programme.

According to Pharmexpert, sales of anti-tumor and immune modulator drugs in the additional drug-supply market segment amounted to $1 billion in 10M2010, including $730 million under the Seven Nosologies programme (the federal portion of state procurement efforts). “Some 90% of medicines purchased under the Seven Nosologies programme are brand name foreign manufactured drugs. But patent protection for many of them is set to expire within the next few years,” said Pharmexpert CEO Nikolai Demidov; generic drug manufacturers will be able to compete with them then.

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