Russian pharmaceutical company Vertex enters North Korean market

ST. PETERSBURG. May 26 (Interfax) - St. Petersburg-based JSC Vertex has delivered the first shipment of medications to North Korea, the pharmaceutical company's press service reported.

North Korea is Vertex's first export destination in East Asia and second in the Asia-Pacific region.

The shipment comprises around 19,400 packages valued at 5.35 million rubles, containing generic cardiac medications in various packaging sizes with the active ingredients lisinopril and losartan; a dementia medication with the active ingredient memantine; an asthma medication containing montelukast; and hair growth sprays.

The medications will be available in the retail and hospital segments of North Korea's pharmaceutical market, with sales in the country's pharmacies scheduled to launch in early June.

Vertex entered the Laotian market last year, and a third shipment of pharmaceuticals is planned by the end of 2026.

Vertex primarily exports pharmaceuticals to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Laos, and North Korea.

Founded in 1999, Vertex's website indicates that its innovation and production complex exceeds 56,500 square meters in total, with potential capacity of up to 200 million packages per year. Vertex Co. LLC, a subsidiary of Vertex, in 2025 obtained permission to commission a production and warehouse facility totaling over 22,000 square meters in the Saint Petersburg Special Economic Zone.

Vertex's portfolio currently includes over 430 products, of which over 310 are medications, and the remaining products are cosmetics and dietary supplements under its own brands.