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Medpolymer OJSC expands the assortment of the medical devices

The history of St. Petersburg Factory Medpolymer OJSC dates back to the Artificial Teeth and Dental Cement Factory, which was established at the Leningrad Lomonosov Porcelain Factory on the basis of the order by the RSFSR People's Commissariat for Health of December 17, 1935 and began operations on April 16, 1937. This was the first industrial-scale production of medical devices in the USSR.

In 1975 the first production of sterile disposable syringes in the USSR began, and in 1998 JSC "Firma Medpolymer", having purchased Italian equipment, for the first time in Russia and the CIS countries mastered the production of infusion solutions in polymer packaging (containers), meeting up-to-date standard and requirements.

Medpolymer OJSC is a socially essential production entity, as solutions for infusion in polymer package are in demand in healthcare facilities throughout Russia.

Manufacturing takes place in specially equipped clean rooms, using state-of-the-art technology of the medical device manufacturing. Cooperation with leading national and European suppliers, strict parameter control at every production stage, and highly qualified personnel ensure the high quality and reliability of products.

The production of infusion solutions has now become a priority. The company's products are of strategic importance: almost all of its pharmaceutical drugs are on the List of Essential Medicines. The company has successfully prepared for the introduction of mandatory labelling of the Essential Medicines from 01.01.2020.

Currently Medpolymer OJSC has started reconstruction and commissioning of new MD production facilities using the investment funds. As estimated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation the domestic MD market will double in the next five years (it reached RUB 280 billion in 2018), and the share of domestic manufacturers will grow from 23% to 40%. By 2021 Medpolymer OJSC plans to take up to 30% of the Russian medical devices market.

The old ways are the best ways

JSC "Firma Medpolymer", a manufacturer of infusion solutions and medical devices, has expanded the staff of its Regulatory Affairs. The company has focused on launching several new generic products and a large list of medical devices onto the market. The second activity would help diversify the business, which is highly regulated by the state (infusion solutions are on the List of Essential Medicines). Low prices make it unreasonable for a company to invest heavily in manufacturing modernization to expand its drugs production capacity. However, the run of the MD market have recently become more attractive.

– A few years ago the market was flooded with cheap products from China," Nikita Blagadir, chief commercial officer of Medpolymer OJSC says. — However, recently the welfare in the PRC has recently grown, commodity pricess have risen, and it has become easier for us to be in competition. We plan to increase the production of innovative and sophisticated medical devices. Prevention and treatment facilities need them in huge quantities.

Two-way traffic

The need for domestically-produced MD was also highlighted during the BioTechMed Cross-Industry Forum in September this year. The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation in cooperation with Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare (Roszdravnadzor) has drawn up lists of domestic MD of high-demand in Central District Hospitals The lists have been posted on the websites of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, brought to the territorial entities heads' attention and it is recommended to use them in invitations to tender. However, almost 70 of the most common medical devices, such as test tubes and shakers, are so far represented only by foreign brands.

"It is very important for us that when receiving a certain message from us, the companies that are ready to expand manufacturing capacity understand that this will be in demand in the future," Sergey Tsyb, Senior Deputy Minister, emphasized it — It would be in a bit of a strange way if our colleagues invest additional funds and expand production, and then we will buy products from foreign partners. This is a two-way street and I ask everyone to pay attention to this so that our products eventually get the market.

Operations Manager of Medpolymer OJSC Olga Vladimirovna Svintsova:

Our company is one of Russia's leading manufacturers of infusion solutions in plastic packaging, medical devices and disposable laboratory ware. The company is fitted with modern equipment, making it possible to flexibly reorganize production pursuant to the market requirements, expand the range of products and guarantee high quality.

Over the course of a long period on the market, the company has gained reputation of a stable and reliable partner for all the customers.

Our company is successfully operating in the medical devices market. The medical devices manufactured by Medpolymer OJSC are used in transfusiology, anaesthesiology, surgery, urology and gastroenterology. A large proportion of the production is single-use laboratory ware.

As part of the government's import phase out policy, the company plans to expand the range and scale up production of the drug products and medical devices.