It’s almost impossible to talk about the economy and living standards without eventually getting caught up in a sometimes polarizing discussion about the high cost of healthcare. Spending for healthcare, as a percentage of GDP, has grown almost everywhere in the world, including the United States. Public resentment remains understandably high in this country as the pharmaceutical industry becomes bigger and more influential, generating a sense that the largest players are starting to depend more on marketing and lobbying than on visionary research.
If Americans are reeling under the onslaught of high drug prices, it’s a feeling shared around the world, especially in countries still struggling to build their per capita GDP to higher industrialized levels. The largest pharmaceutical companies are based in the U.S. and Europe, and countries outside that sphere have even less influence and control over prices and procedures. But basic medicines are critical to the health of every country, which has driven the Russian government to ramp up a major campaign for pharmaceutical independence.
Representative of this ongoing move is Rafarma Pharmaceuticals, a newly-built and fast-growing company in Russia that is being actively encouraged by the Russian government as a developing source for critical pharmaceuticals, independent of Big Pharma. The company has already built the most technologically advanced pharmaceutical plant in Russia, and aims to manufacture a range of generic and alternative pharmaceutical products available for sale at “mass market” prices, reduced in some cases by 30%-40% under typical import prices.
With a target market of over 100 million people, and with strong government support to grease the wheels, the company’s prospects are impressive. They are already being considered for the role of principal supplier to the Russian Public Health system and the Russian Army.
For more information, visit www.rafarma.us.
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