NovaMedica and Skolkovo Foundation to build a research centre

NovaMedica's (Russia) research unit, NovaMedica Innotech, has entered into an agreement with Russian agency Skolkovo Foundation for the creation of research centre at technopark Skolkovo. According to the report by news website Pharmvestnik, the research centre is to include biochemical, analytical, and pharmaceutical laboratories with an experimental production of dosage forms. The main focus for NovaMedica Innotech at the technopark would be the implementation of programmes for the development of the products included in the company's portfolio as well as the technology transfer pertaining to the construction of its manufacturing facility in the country's Kaluga region. The company plans to open the centre in 2015.

Significance: NovaMedica is jointly owned by Domain Associates (US) and Russian government-owned company Rusnano, which is specifically focused on bringing innovative products to the country's market (see Russia - Canada: 20 December 2013: ). The agreement with Skolkovo Foundation, which is also aimed at the development of new technologies, is therefore reflective of the Russian government's objective of enabling innovativeness in the country's pharmaceutical industry. Separately, Kaluga, where NovaMedica is building its production facility, is one of Russia's several pharmaceutical clusters, with AstraZeneca (UK), Stada CIS (part of Stada, Germany), and Novo Nordisk (Denmark) also building production facilities in the region.