A pharmaceutical cluster to be created in Tatarstan

Tatneftekhiminvest Holding had a meeting chaired by Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov on September 30.

The meeting reviewed a draft target programme called “Development of Tatarstan’s pharmaceutical industry in 2011-2020 and prospectively”. The firm’s general director Rafinat Yarullin said the programme had been devised to implement the Russian pharmaceutical industry development strategy until 2020 and the target programme on promoting biotechnologies in Tatarstan in 2010-2020 and pursuant to the drat federal programme on developing the pharmaceutical and medical industry in the Russian Federation until 2020 and prospectively.


The programme provides for domestic manufacturing of vital and essential medicines, launching on the market innovative products made by the local pharmaceutical industry. The programme is planned to include two stages: 2011-2015 and 2016-2020.


Summarising the project’s discussion, Rustam Minnikhanov said the domestic pharmaceutical industry lagged seriously behind and the niche was occupied by foreign firms. The scientific and clinical base available in Tatarstan allows building a whole cluster of pharmaceutical plants that are scientifically feasible. Our plants have no serious prospects without the latter condition, the head of Tatarstan holds. To be promoted on the market one needs to design new products.


Rustam Minnikhanov proposed setting up a special platform where companies would be invited to from outside but Kazan scientific centres will be the foundation. He recommended the Tatarstan Cabinet of Ministers to elaborate on the project and adopt the programme before the year’s end.


The meeting went on to hear a report by the Ecoenergomash research and production association on developing and manufacturing a prototype of a plasmachemical purification unit for oil products, surface acting agents, toxic and carcinogenic inclusions and waste water decontamination. The plasma purification technologies allows purification from heavy metal inclusions, inorganic and organic contaminants, bacterial pollutants to the open-air reservoir standard. The company specialises in developing and implementing technologies and equipment for liquids and gas purification. Since 1999, over 1 thousand equipment units for the petrochemical, oil and gas processing industries have been developed and manufactured.


Rustam Minnikhanov asked the firm to keep him posted on the operation of the pilot unit, soon to be launched in the Khimgrad technopolis, stressing that high-quality water purification at a minimal cost was crucial.