Russian drugmakers aim to focus on design of original drugs

The Russian pharmaceutical market is undergoing a large-scale transformation, as the share of foreign drugs is steadily declining due to acceleration of processes of import substitution, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

That leads to the ever-growing number of applications for pharmaceutical patents filed by Russian companies, which last year exceeded the number of applications from foreigners for the first time in the last seven years.

According to recent statements by Yuri Zubov, head of the Russian Patent Service (Rospatent), the current balance in the number of patent applications in the Russian pharmaceutical market is gradually shifting in favor of Russian drugmakers. However, according to him, while global drugmakers mainly patent new active ingredients – the so-called primary patents - most of Russian companies are focused on secondary patents, improving already known formulas and technologies.