MGC Pharma seals Russia joint venture for its medical products

MGC Pharma (ASX:MXC) has established a joint venture for medical products in the Russian market including for its anti-inflammatory product which is a proposed treatment for COVID-19.

The European-based biopharma company’s Russian business partner is Dr Svetlana Kopachevskaja, a leading Russian doctor and medical researcher, and a key investment partner.

“Russia is an extremely large market and is still reporting very high numbers of COVID-19 infections,” co-founder and managing director Roby Zomer said.

“Importantly, our time to market for [our anti-inflammatory medicine] in Russia can be reduced significantly via the fast-track process.”

MGC Pharma has a 70 per cent share in the Russian joint venture and its partners 30 per cent, and the venture will be managed by Dr Kopachevskaja and her team.

Expertise in registering and developing oncological medicines

Dr Kopachevskaja has knowledge in the production, development and registration of oncological medications, and she was formerly deputy director of the National Medical Centre of Oncology of the Russian Ministry of Health.

She has been responsible for implementing procedures for registering new and innovative medicines, and she brings with her a highly credentialed team in the oncology medical field.

The joint venture in Russia will start the process to register MGC Pharma’s anti-inflammatory medicine for the Russian market.

The new agreement includes the registration of 15 MGC Pharma formulations and generic oncology medicines, leveraging the company’s expertise in this area led by Dr Jonathan Grunfeld.

The annual cost of oncology services in Russia, paid by health insurance, is $US2bn ($2.8bn).

This registration process for MGC Pharma’s anti-inflammatory medicine in Russia is expected to be fast-tracked once current phase-two clinical trials are completed around November.

Clinical trials for anti-inflammatory medicine conclude in November

Recent results of the clinical trials show MGC Pharma’s anti-inflammatory spray is effective in reducing patients’ immune response to the coronavirus, known as a cytokine storm.

The term sheet for the Russian joint venture was signed after the release of the clinical research results, that showed patients in a trial met all of the US Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines for COVID-19 clinical trials.

The anti-inflammatory medicine is to be distributed in Russia by MGC Pharma’s existing distribution partner, Israel-based medical products company KS Kim, part of the SK Pharma group.

Russia represents a key market for MGC Pharma and its anti-inflammatory medicine for COVID-19 as the country has recorded nearly 1 million cases, the fourth highest globally.