TOMSK, September 23 (RIA Novosti) – Pharmaceutical companies in Russia will be able to produce the bulk of vital and essential drugs in two or three years, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Sergei Tsyb said at an international pharmaceutical forum in Tomsk on Tuesday.
"We learned how to produce any drug in Russia. I think in two or three years we will be prepared to, within those lists approved by the government, ensure to the maximum the availability of local products in the system of the Russian Federation," Tsyb said.
He noted that the issues surrounding the import substitution for drugs are closely linked with the development of technologies relating to their production.
The first International Forum for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices began in Tomsk on Tuesday, with about 500 people from seven countries in attendance.
"If you take the drug production in 2009-2010 and now, [you can see] it has doubled. This is already more than 200 billion rubles [$5.18 billion]. All this is due to the fact that technologies and companies with competence in the production of these drugs appeared," the deputy minister said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia would not impose an embargo on foreign drugs, despite the country's aim of achieving some independence in this area.
