Development Strategy of JSC "BelVitunipharm" and Vitebsk Biopharma Factory after Unification

JSC "BelVitunipharma" and the Vitebsk Biopharma Factory were merged to jointly address the task of import substitution and ensure the country's drug security. The new enterprise is a major domestic pharmaceutical manufacturer that meets international requirements in the production and quality control of medicinal products.

Ambitious goals were set for "BelVitunipharma" before: the production of medicinal products on a full cycle basis and an increase in the output of import-substituting products. However, during its 5 years of existence, the enterprise could not fully implement all its plans. Initially, Russian investors refused to cooperate with Belarusian pharmacists, although agreements had already been reached with them on the creation of JV "Vitunpharm" in the region. Then, in 2011, the enterprise was corporatized with the participation of the Jordanian company "JPM" and intended to launch the production of pharmaceutical preparations in the shortest possible time. But due to the global economic crisis, the implementation of the plans was delayed. Currently, only a line for packaging tablets arriving from Jordan is operating here.

In order to accelerate the implementation of the project to create a new pharmaceutical enterprise in Vitebsk, it was decided in 2012 to involve a new player – the Vitebsk Biopharma Factory, which has many years of experience (over 80 years in the market) in producing veterinary drugs.

This is the largest biological industry enterprise in Belarus. Following the implementation of an innovative project for expansion in 2006-2010, it now produces not only vaccines and serums for animals but also veterinary pharmaceuticals – antibiotics, anthelmintics, solutions for injections and infusions, ointments, vitamins, preservatives, and diagnostic agents.

Currently, Dolzha, Vitebsk District, produces over 100 types of world-class veterinary drugs, with this figure increasing by about ten annually due to the introduction of proprietary formulations and developments by scientists from the Veterinary Academy and the Vyshlesky Institute of Experimental Veterinary Medicine. It is also important that the demand for veterinary drugs is steadily growing. Since 2006, sales have tripled, with current supplies amounting to approximately 35 tons per year. The products are in demand not only in the Belarusian market but also in Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. The geography of export supplies is constantly expanding: Belarusian drugs are supplied to Uzbekistan, and opportunities for their sale in China, Japan, India, and Vietnam are being explored. Cooperation with foreign colleagues on technology exchange and the development of new markets is being worked on.

— The subprogram "Vitebsk Pharmacy" of the Regional Program for Innovative and Investment Development of the Vitebsk Region provides that by 2015, about 80% of veterinary drugs and medicines will be produced within Belarus, rather than imported, – says the director of OJSC "BelVitunipharm" Nikolai Nevinsky. – With our enterprise reaching its design capacity, the annual savings of budget funds due to import substitution will amount to 60-70 million dollars. New technological lines allow us to certify production in accordance with international requirements, which increases the export potential of the manufactured drugs. By 2015, we plan to enter the markets of 12 states, and increase the export volume to CIS countries to 30% of the production volume.

Eduard Bakevich, "Vitebskiye Vesti"