Moscow Drug Firm Plans New Pharma Plant

Ferane, a leading Moscow, Russia-based pharmaceutical company, hasrevealed plans to build new production facilities for insulin and oral medicines. As a result of its investment, the company expects to boost profits by over 50% to 120 billion rubles ($20.9 million), reports New Europe.

A new insulin-making unit is expected to open in June, which will use components from and under license of Denmark's Novo Nordisk, for whom Ferane has already been packing insulin. The Russian firm's technical director, Alexander Polystyankow, has said his company was capable of producing 40 million units a year of a range of three human and three natural (ie pig) insulins, which is more than twice as much as the country needs.

Meantime, Rossiisky Insulin, based in the Republic of Adygea, has revealed plans to use a commercial bank credit facility to complete the country's first full-cycle facility to produce natural insulin, started under a 289 billion ruble government-financed project launched in 1993 which has so far paid just 60 billion rubles. The new plant will have capacity for up to 300kg of purified insulin a year.