Dive Brief:
- Russian media outlet Tass is reporting that U.S. pharma giant Pfizer may be on the cusp of striking a production deal with Polysan, a drugmaker with operations in St. Petersburg and Belgorod.
- The deal would reportedly involve the production of Pfizer products in St. Petersburg, though neither firm has confirmed the ostensible collaboration.
- Although other major biopharma companies have expressed interest in expanding operations in Russia, ongoing political and economic turmoil in the nation has presented significant business barriers.
Dive Insight:
The logic behind a production agreement in Russia centers on the desire to expand R&D to a nation that has expressed clear interest in the field. For instance, Russian president Vladimir Putin reiterated a 90% domestic drugmaking target for 2020 last fall, including a target investment of $1.8 billion to bolster domestic biopharma manufacturing.
At the same time, collaborative agreements with global life sciences firms have faced a mixed bag in the country in the wake of complicated geopolitical considerations. For instance, Germany's Fresenius nixed a deal with Russia-based Binnopharm (a Sistema JSFC subsidiary) in late 2014 due to the territorial conflict in Ukraine.
Still, other companies such as Abbott, Novo Nordisk, and AstraZeneca have followed through on deals with Russian pharma firms in recent times.