Pharmstandard preparing to produce Janssen's anti-tuberculosis drug in Ufa
MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - Russia's leading pharmaceutical company OJSC Pharmstandard has registered anti-tuberculosis drug Sirturo, the intellectual property rights of which belong to Janssen, the pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson.
The Russian company said that Pharmstandard currently handles secondary packaging and quality control at its regional production facilities Pharmstandard-UfaVita. The company intends to start producing the drug soon.
Pharmstandard did not tell Interfax when and in what volumes the company is planning to produce the medicine.
Additionally, Janssen and Pharmstandard have created a joint expert committee to discuss questions related to the drug's legal and medical aspects, as well as to the supply and production of the drug.
In January 2013, Janssen signed a licensing agreement with Pharmstandard to produce and commercialize the drug in Russia and the CIS. The Russian company will also be responsible for obtaining state registration and cooperating with regulators and health authorities to ensure market access and availability of the drug.
The localization of the drug's production is occurring in line with the federal program entitled "The Development of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Industries of the Russian Federation until 2020 and Beyond."
This program expects to bring Russian-made medicines to account for up to 50% of overall consumption on the domestic market by 2020, and medical equipment and other medical products - up to 40% in value terms.
