Novartis plans to increase use of its flagship Russian plant

Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) plans to increase the level of utilization of its Russian plant by almost four-fold until 2022, according to recent statements, made by representatives of the company and some St Petersburg media, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

At present the design capacity of the company’s flagship Russian plant, which is known as Novartis Neva and which is located in the special economic zone of St Petersburg, is estimated at 1.5 billion tablets and 60 million packages per year. However, the company plans its significant expansion during the next several years.

As Leonid Shapoval, director general of Novartis Neva revealed in a recent interview with the Russian Delovoy Peterburg business paper, the process of the transfer of technologies at the plant is currently ongoing.