On March 27, the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a seminar for Moscow medical industry’s entrepreneurs engaged in foreign economic activity.
"We are changing from a country of consumption to a country of production," said Mr, Vladimir Platonov, the President of the MCCI, opening the event. He emphasized that now conditions are being created for the development of production in general, and great attention is being paid to the medical industry in particular. Meanwhile, as the political and economic situation is changing, entrepreneurs need to understand what products our country needs and what can be supplied to the markets of friendly countries.
Ms. Irina Filatova, the Deputy of the State Duma, the Chairman of the Expert Council for Protection of Competition in Pharmaceutical Activities, said that her sphere of activity includes protection of the interests of domestic manufacturers, as well as cooperation with African countries in the field of pharmaceuticals. "If one wants to cooperate with African countries, I strongly recommend receiving a thorough instruction and not to apply the experience gained by conducting business with Western countries," the Deputy said. There are 54 countries in Africa and they all differ in their mentality and political circumstances, which in many countries are unstable and tense. In some countries the corruption factor creates big problems.
Ms. Anna Bessmertnaya, the Chairman of the Commission on Foreign Economic Cooperation with Partners in China, also supported the Parliamentarian, Ms. Filatova, "The turn to the East for many entrepreneurs turned out to be involuntary. And it is a big mistake to enter markets, particularly China, transferring their experience of dealing with former partners from Europe and the United States. For China - this is a dead end," - emphasized the speaker. She said that Russia now buys a lot of medical equipment and consumables in China. As for the export of our medical products to China, the situation is more complicated: Chinese medicine is radically different from Western medicine. However, there are still niches in which supplies are possible and quite promising. In particular, these are vaccines as well as their components produced in Moscow,
"Latin America is a promising market for cooperation," said Ms. Margarita Iskandarova, the Honorary Representative of the MCCI for Cooperation with Latin America in her speech. And Brazil happens to be a "gateway" to Latin America”. At the same time, the expert noted that it is a country that “has almost completely overcome imports’ constrains". Also, there is an abiding interest in medical technologies in Latin America. "Yes, we are distanced, with a different mentality, but it is not as great as in the same situation with China", - said Ms. Iskandarova. The pharmaceutical market is now worth about 19.5 billion dollars and it is a growing sector of the economy: in the coming year it is expected to grow to 21 billion dollars, 4 billion of which is accounted for by oncological drugs. Generics of most medicines are successfully produced in the country, and a number of large enterprises have been localized. The expert invited entrepreneurs interested in entering the Latin American market to contact the representative office: "We are ready to hell," emphasized Ms. Iskandarova.
"Persians love tactile associations," said Mr. Vyacheslav Yuvachev, the Head of Foreign Economic Activity of the office of the Honorary Representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, if one comes to Iran for negotiations, be sure to bring samples. Catalogs, descriptions do not work here".
The expert went on to say that pharmaceuticals are produced in Iran with a fully engaged capacity: medical equipment is also mainly produced domestically, but some of it is still purchased through parallel imports. Therefore, the speaker suggested, that Russian medical equipment may be in demand here, but it is necessary to enter the market only through exhibitions.
The quality of cosmetics, produced in Iran, is of a very high quality, and the prices are quite reasonable in comparison with similar Western countries’ products. There are also items for pursuing cooperation in telemedicine and medical tourism. In particular, Iran performs very high quality plastic surgeries. Mr. Vyacheslav Yuvachev also urged entrepreneurs to contact his office for consultations, selection of partners and establishment of cooperation.
A separate part of the event was devoted to the supporting measures available to entrepreneurs in the medical sector. Thus, Mr. Kirill Litvitsky, the General Director of ANO "Medical Technology Consortium" told about the functioning of the ecosystem of technological development of the domestic medical industry sector within the framework of the Consortium. He said that the cluster combines production, science and education. The expert noted that now, the priority is to develop a plan for the development of medical industry until 2030. The speaker also presented the possibility of a manufacturer receiving subsidies through the Consortium.
Mr. Ilya Glebov, the Director of the Department of Digital Development, Innovation and Investment of the MCCI, informed the participants that the Chamber provides services to select support measures for a particular company.
Ms. Elina Gabbasova, the Head of the Export Development Division of the Export Development Department of the Moscow Export Center, invited the seminar participants to take part in exhibitions, business missions, acceleration and educational programs organized and conducted by the MEC (Moscow Export Center). In particular, the nearest plans include participation in the Kazakhstan International Exhibition "Healthcare", which will be held on May 15-17.
Mr. Filipp Romanov, the General Director of the Association of Participants of Circulation of Medicines and Medical Devices “Lekmedobrashenie", told how his organization helps members of the Association to enter the Russian market of medical products.
In the third part of the seminar, two companies presented their successful cases: the NIO “IRE -POLUS" LLC., which holds a leading position in the Russian market in the production of special laser equipment and "Research and Production Enterprise "MELITTA" LLC - which is the only full-cycle company in Russia that develops and produces pulsed ultraviolet units with xenon lamps for disinfection of air and room surfaces.
Summarizing the results of the event, the moderator of the meeting - the Director of the Department of External Economic Relations and International Cooperation, Mr. Vladislav Mishchenko, invited the seminar participants to take part in a business mission to Tajikistan, where pitch sessions of companies from the IT sector, including medical ones, are planned.