R-Pharm hopes to dominate public procurements of anti-HIV and hepatitis drugs in Russia

R-Pharm plans to dominate in public procurements of anti-HIV and hepatitis drugs in Russia, the overall annual value of which is estimated at 20 billion roubles (~$300 million), according to recent statements of some senior officials of the Russian Ministry of Health and sources of the company, The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent reports.

Several days ago the company completed registration of its anti-HIV drug under the Efavirenz-TL brand, and will probably put it up for state tenders already in 2019. It is planned the drug will be produced at the company’s plant in Khimki in the Moscow region.

In the meantime, R-Pharm is not the only Russian pharmaceutical company that will produce efavirenz, the active ingredient of Bristol-Myers Squibb's (NYSE: BMY) Sustiva. Currently analogues of the drug are produced by India’s Hetero Labs, as well as the local unit of US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) and Russian firm Pharmsintez.