In the period from January to July 2019, the volume of exports of finished drugs from Russia (except for shipments to the UAE) reached 15 billion rubles, having increased by 26% in rubles. The volume of shipments in packs also increased (by 12.5%, to 307 mln packs of GRP), according to the analytical company RNC Pharma. Pharmaceutical companies from St. Petersburg also made their contribution by starting to supply drugs for treatment of oncological diseases and flu vaccines abroad.

It is difficult to calculate the share of St. Petersburg in the total structure, as one company may own plants in several regions or produce a drug here - and the rights to it may be owned in the Moscow region. However, given the reservations to St. Petersburg's exporters, we can include Vertex, Biokad, NTPF Polisan, Cytomed, the Research Institute of Vaccines and Sera (SPbNIIVS FMBA Russia), Pharmproject and Grotex. (Solopharm)

According to RNC Pharma's Development Director Nikolay Bespalov, these companies have shipped the most drugs to Vietnam (178 million rubles), Iraq (178 million), Lithuania (158 million), Sri Lanka (155 million) and Nicaragua (88 million).

In particular, "Biokad" started to supply the anticancer drugs "Bevacizumab" and "Hertikad" to Iraq (increase from zero to 178 million rubles). Shipments of Geropharm (nootropa Cortexin and ophthalmic drug Retinalamin), as well as Biokad (antitumor Gerticad) to Lithuania increased almost 30 times (in rubles). In addition, SPbNIIVS began to supply Russian flu vaccine Grippovak to Nicaragua (increase in supply from zero to 88 million rubles). The final stages of this vaccine - bottling and packaging - are being carried out at the Mechnikov Latin American Institute of Biotechnology in Nicaragua, and the Ministry of Health of this country has purchased the Russian vaccine for the first time.

Of the listed manufacturers, shipments are declining only from two companies, analysts say. "Polisan" has minus 52% in rubles: mainly due to the actual termination of supplies to Ukraine. There has also been a drop in other directions, but this is the main reason," says Bespalov.

The company "Cytomed" has a 20% decrease in rubles: it stopped supplying the immunostimulant "Timogen" to Lithuania in the form of a finished form, but at the same time significantly increased its shipments to Finland to its own enterprise. "In fact, we are talking about logistics changes," explains Bespalov.

According to the data from the St. Petersburg Technopark Cluster Development Centre, 185 companies work in the city's pharmaceutical cluster (taking into account enterprises engaged in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as radiation technologies). They produce both original medicines and a variety of generics and bioanalogues. Firms develop contract production: for example, NTFF "Polisan" localized the production of several foreign drugs (including antimicrobial agent "Zivoks" company Pfizer ("Pfizer"). St. Petersburg is also home to the foreign pharmaceutical giant Novartis (Novartis).

In total, according to analysts, since the beginning of the year, drugs have been shipped to 88 countries (except for shipments to the EAEC countries). In terms of monetary volumes, Ukraine is leading - to be more precise, the territories of the DPR and LPR, the study says. Uzbekistan is on the second line in terms of supply volumes. The leader in terms of dynamics of shipments was Sudan, the export of drugs from Russia to it increased almost 143 times (up to a share of 11.3% in total exports). The whole volume of supplies to Sudan is a vaccine for prevention of yellow fever at the Chumakov Institute.