Roche to invest 5 billion roubles in development of new drugs in Russia

Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) has signed an agreement with IM Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Russia’s oldest and the largest national medical higher educational institution, on investing 5 billion roubles ($84 million) on conducting R&D activities and the development of new drugs in Russia, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

This has already been confirmed by Nenad Pavletich, general director of Roche Russia. According to him, a priority will be given to carrying out joint fundamental and applied researches, as well as clinical approbation and assessment of the quality of health technologies in the field of neurology and oncology.

It is planned that at the initial stage particular attention will be paid to studies of drugs for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and with malignant tumors of the lymphoid system.