Indian company Cadila Pharmaceuticals and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have agreed to jointly finance the first stage of a new manufacturing facility in Russia, according to a statement on Thursday. The agreement comes after numerous Western competitors withdrew from Russia due to Ukraine-related sanctions, boosting India’s role in supplying medicines to the country.
According to the agreement signed on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the parties will provide a total investment of 10 billion rubles (nearly $113 million), of which 1.5 billion rubles (almost $17 million) will come from the RDIF.
The launch of the new pharmaceutical complex, which is expected to manufacture gastroenterological drugs, as well as medicines for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, is scheduled for 2027. The plant’s annual production capacity is projected to amount to more than a billion of units of drugs and about 1,500 tons of active pharmaceutical ingredients, with the potential to increase the volumes.
Cadila currently supplies pain relief and antispasmodic drugs and eye drops used for treating glaucoma, among other products. The RDIF said production of medicines for the Russian market would be local.
“Some of the drugs planned for production at the new enterprise have not previously been produced in Russia,” the fund added.
According to the Moscow-based RDIF, Cadila also produces high-tech pharmaceutical equipment that is expected to allow the Russian plant to be provided with “advanced innovations in the industry.”
The multinational – which is focused on manufacturing active pharmaceutical intermediates, finished formulations, food supplements, biotechnology products, and pharmaceutical machinery – currently runs production facilities in India and Ethiopia.
Earlier this year, Indian pharmaceutical firm PSK Biotech Private and authorities from Russia’s Sakhalin Region announced plans to set up production facilities in the Russian Far East. The company is expected to begin manufacturing of personal hygiene products, diapers, and medical supplies in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk as soon as November.
Long-time trade and economic partners, India and Russia have been expanding cooperation over the past two years. Businesses from the South Asian nation have been exploring opportunities in the pharmaceutical, diamond, and hydrocarbon sectors in Russia’s Far East, Deputy Minister for Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic Anatoly Bobrakov previously said, adding that the region’s trade with India increased by 40% last year.