Arminas Macevicius, Vice President Eurasia at Stada in an exclusive interview to the Global Pharmaceutical Leaders’ Club discussed the company’s priorities in the Eurasia region, development prospects, current trends and regulatory changes affecting pharmaceutical markets.

In the interview with Arminas Macevicius, we covered the following questions:

– What are the priorities for your company in Eurasia?
– What trends having the most impact on pharmaceutical markets in the countries of Eurasia do you highlight for your company?
– What planned regulatory changes may affect the development of the pharmaceutical markets in Eurasia?

What are the priorities for your company in the Eurasia region?

With the addition of Sanofi products to STADA’s portfolio in Eurasia, we have strengthened our position in the CHC (Consumer Healthcare) segment even further. Of course, we will continue developing this area through investments and possibly by attracting partners such as Sanofi. Over the next few years, the company intends to strengthen its position in the hospital segment and prescription business. In the countries of Eurasia where there is a recognition and / or simplified procedure (for instance, in Moldova, Uzbekistan, Georgia), we have already registered a number of new European prescription pharmaceutical drugs. We will continue this work, as well as collaborate with the regulatory authorities of all our countries to further simplify the market access procedure. In the medium and long term perspective, we are planning to develop the biosimilars segment which along with generics is one of the key businesses for STADA. I believe that within 1 to 1.5 years we will be able to offer such medicines to those markets in Eurasia where there is an accelerated registration.

What trends having the most impact on pharmaceutical markets in the countries of the Eurasian region do you highlight for your company?

In addition to the rather high unpredictability of the Eurasian markets in general, the pharmaceutical industry faces logistical and production issues. This is the lack of storage facilities, and the limited production sites potentially suitable for contract manufacturing, and difficulties with the status of the EAEU including the situation when not all the countries in Central Asia are its members.

I still stand up for the simplification and acceleration of procedures, for the unification of approaches to the registration of products, for recognizing pharmaceutical drugs as local for the needs of public procurement. All Central Asian countries are demonstrating impressive population growth, only the combination of the largest markets, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, gives us a total market of more than 60 million people. It is obvious that mechanisms that would allow considering Central Asia as a single market are needed. This would make it much easier for many companies to make investment decisions, including those related to the localization of the production of innovative pharmaceutical drugs. Ultimately, everyone will benefit from this: regulators, healthcare professionals, and, most importantly, patients.

What planned regulatory changes may affect the development of the pharmaceutical markets in the Eurasian region?

The authorities of the countries in the Eurasia region are already doing a lot to improve the quality of medical care and medicines provision. For example, in Kazakhstan, the market share of public procurement is more than 40%. This is now one of the best indicators in Eurasia. I have mentioned before the recognition procedures in a number of countries. It is possible that the introduction of combined systems, the development of insurance, and co-payment will help improve key health indicators and availability of medicines for the population.