MINSK, 21 March (BelTA) – Belarus' export of medicines went up by 12% in 2016 as against 2015 to total $115 million, Tatyana Tumelya, the head of production management and development planning at the pharmaceutical industry department of the Healthcare Ministry, said at a press conference held in BelTA's press center.
More than 25% of Belarusian-made medicines is bound for export. The products are sold to 29 countries. The bulk goes to the Russian Federation. Shipments are also made to the United States and other countries. Belarusian pharmaceutical companies are actively exploring markets in Asia and the Arab region – Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The domestic pharmaceutical market is estimated at $636.8 million, or 96.3% compared to the previous year. The share of Belarusian medicines in value terms amounted to 51.9%. As of 1 March 2017, 4,500 were registered in the country. Among them 1,600 were domestic medicines.
The main area of development of the Belarusian pharmaceutical industry is the production of import-substituting, so-called generic medicines which are not inferior, both in terms of qualitative and quantitative parameters, to the original drugs and are just as effective and safe while more affordable.
Tatyana Tumelya informed that in the next five years the domestic pharmaceutical industry will focus on the development and production of modern and effective drugs in new forms (solid dosage form) in a user-friendly package (cartridges and pre-filled syringes) for use in targeted or molecular-targeted therapy.
