Pioneering Novartis sees Zolgensma as a game changer for Russian drug development

While much of the world’s focus is on what pharma can do to end the coronavirus pandemic, the rest of the industry is continuing its work ensuring innovative medicines reach those most in need.

And it would be easy to forget how ground-breaking some of the medicines developed in recent years have been, with perhaps the best example provided by Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) with Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi), a gene therapy from its AveXis subsidiary - now renamed as Novartis Gene Therapies - for treating children aged under two years with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Novartis is not just focusing on ensuring swift access for children in major markets such as the USA and Europe, where Zolgensma has already been approved. The company has been working just as hard in other regions and countries, including Russia, where the firm submitted a dossier to the Ministry of Health in July.