2 pharmaceutical plants to open in Azerbaijan soon
By Leman Mammadova
Significant steps to develop pharmaceutical industry in Azerbaijan, that is mainly dependent on imports to the country, will be taken this year.
Construction of two pharmaceutical plants will be completed in the next two-three months in Azerbaijan, Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev said on February 18, Trend reports.
He said that both plants are being built in the Pirallahi industrial park. The first plant (of the company Diamed Co) will allow Azerbaijan to become independent from the import of syringes, he noted.
As for the second plant, the minister noted that this is a joint Azerbaijani-Russian plant (owned by the company Hayat Pharm - a joint venture of Russia’s R-Pharm, Azerbaijan’s Vita-A and Azerbaijan Investment Company).
Hayat Pharm will produce medicines of various pharmaceutical groups, including cancer, antifungal, antiemetic, antiviral and other drugs.
Earlier, founder of Azerbaijan’s Diamed Co Ayten Guliyeva told Trend that in the first six months, 100 million syringes will be produced at the plant and production will further increase to 150-170 million syringes.
Pirallahi Industrial Park of Azerbaijan may become an important center for the local production of pharmaceuticals.
The park, established in 2016, is specialized in the production of pharmaceutical products. Here, as in other industrial parks, investors are exempted from various tax and customs duties for seven years.
The Pirallahi Industrial Park, located in the Pirallahi district of Baku, covers 30 hectares of land.
The foundation of this park aimed at the development of the pharmaceutical industry in the country, reducing dependence on imports in this area, meeting the medicine demand of the population and increasing employment.
The Pirallahi Industrial Park currently has four residents including the joint Azerbaijani-Russian plant Hayat Pharm, the Azerbaijani-Iranian plant Caspian Pharmed, the plant of Diamed Co., and the plant of IFFA. These plants are under construction.
Gilan Holding and India's "SunPharma" are currently negotiating to establish such a venture in Azerbaijan.
In addition, a big pharmaceutical enterprise will be built in Azerbaijan through Belarusian investments. The enterprise will provide the Azerbaijani market with the most modern high-tech oncology medicines.
German pharmaceutical companies are also interested in this sector and watch the Azerbaijani market, considering possible market entry in 2019-2020.
Azerbaijan plans to produce pharmaceutical products worth 1.3 million manats ($760,000) in 2019. The production will be expanded in subsequent years. Thus, the output will reach 38.8 million manats ($ 22.83 million) in 2020, 39.5 million manats ($ 23.24 million) in 2021 and 40.2 million manats ($ 23.65 million) in 2022 due to the operation of pharmaceutical companies here starting from 2019.
Developing pharmaceutical manufacturing in oil-rich Azerbaijan may become one of major directions in the country's aspiration to diversify its non-oil sector of the economy.
Easing tax burdens and allowing entrepreneurs more space to maneuver may have a positive effect on this industry in terms of big changes ahead.
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