Russia's state-run, non-profit Rosnano will invest some 1.2 billion rubles (about $40 million) in developing treatment for AIDS, hepatitis and cancer of the pancreas, the corporation said on Tuesday.
"Reviving the country's pharmaceutical industry...is a difficult task. But the country has no choice. It's a matter of state reputation and national health. This is a chance to attract 'smart money' to our country's economy," Rosnano head Anatoly Chubais said.
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev earlier urged scientists and businessmen to take steps to redevelop the industry. More than 200 innovative drugs are planned to be designed by 2020.
Tatyana Nikolenfo who heads Rosnano's infrastructure programs, said that Russia had for a long time been a kind of "Eldorado for clinical tests" for Western pharmaceutical companies,
"It all has been very cheap here. Western firms tested their projects in Russia and later they returned here in the capacity of expensive imports. We want to change the situation," she said.
MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti)
