The technological re-equipment of the Vitebsk Biopharma Factory will be completed in 2009

November 3, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Vitebsk Biopharmaceutical Plant is completing the technological modernization of its production, the director of the private unitary enterprise "Vitebsk Biopharmaceutical Plant" Arkady Yudasin told a BELTA correspondent. The technical re-equipment and expansion of the Vitebsk Biopharmaceutical Plant are being carried out within the framework of the state program for the development of veterinary drugs and instruments used in veterinary medicine. In accordance with it, it was planned to complete the construction of the main production building of the enterprise with a total area of 18.7 thousand sq.m and to equip the new production facilities with modern technological equipment that meets GMP requirements - Good Manufacturing Practice. The first start-up complex of the biopharmaceutical plant was commissioned in 2007. With the start of its operation, the enterprise mastered the production of hyperimmune sera, which made it possible to ensure complete import substitution of these drugs. At this stage, commissioning and start-up operations are underway at the second start-up complex, where finished dosage forms, bacterial vaccines, and infusion solutions for veterinary medicine will be produced. By the end of November 2009, the enterprise plans to begin mastering production capacities. Simultaneously with the commissioning and start-up operations, work continues on the third start-up complex. Here, the production of viral vaccines, which were not previously produced in Belarus, will be established. The import-substituting drugs are intended to protect farm animals and poultry from viral infections. According to Arkady Yudasin, the large-scale technological reconstruction of production, which began in 2006, will be completed in 2009. When the plant reaches its design capacity, starting from 2011, the range of manufactured drugs will exceed 90 items, the volume of manufactured products will be about Br40 billion, of which almost half will be import-substituting. The export potential of the plant will also increase. As the director noted, according to the data for 9 months of the current year, the enterprise's exports have increased 1.5 times compared to the same period last year. Vitebsk drugs are purchased in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Turkey. Work is underway to certify several drugs in Kazakhstan. The Vitebsk Biopharmaceutical Plant was founded in 1930. It specializes in the production of complex therapeutic, prophylactic, and diagnostic drugs for veterinary medicine. According to the results of the first nine months of 2009, the production growth rate at comparable prices compared to the corresponding period of 2008 was 119.7%, production profitability reached 18%, and profit increased by 80% compared to January-September 2008. -0-