During the IInd All-Russian Pharmprobeg campaign, Akrikhin representatives raised a topical issue of the quality of Russian generic drugs, and recognised the meaning and role of GMP standards for an enterprise.
For a second consecutive year, Akrikhin has been taking part in the All-Russian Pharmprobeg campaign, this time as a Silver Partner. Pharmprobeg is a mass media car tour aimed at raising public awareness of the most burning issues in public health care and associated industries. In 2020, Pharmprobeg took on a new online format with the scale of the event going up significantly to include mass media representatives from the CIS countries, the Middle East and Europe.
One of the stops on the Pharmprobeg 2020 map was Staraya Kupavna, where the main production facilities of Russia’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer Akrikhin are concentrated. As part of the Pharmprobeg 2020 agenda, Denis Chetverikov, CEO at Akrikhin and Chairman of the Supervisory Board at the Association of the Russian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (ARPM), gave an interview about the quality of local generic drugs in the context of experience gained by both his company and the industry in general.
There is a perception that the quality of generic drugs is far lower than that of original drugs, however the leader of Akrikhin denied this information. Denis Chetverikov said that a generic drug itself contains the same chemical formula as the original one. Only excipients in a generic drug may be different, but their properties will be just identical. As part of the R&D process, generic drugs undergo comparative clinical studies, rigorous expert review procedures, to conform to the quality and efficacy criteria of the original drug and pass the official registration stage.
Akrikhin takes quality assurance seriously. Its big advantage is more than 80 years of expertise in pharmaceutical production, an in-house R&D center and many years of cooperation with first-class international companies in contract manufacturing.
Every year we spend hundreds of million roubles on quality assurance, because it is the most critical element of the entire pharmaceutical system. There cannot be “second-grade” quality here inherently,
noted Denis Chetverikov, CEO at Akrikhin.
Akrikhin’s Quality Director Olga Maklakova, in turn, spoke on the role and meaning of GMP standards in pharmaceutical operations. Protecting the patient and guaranteeing drug quality, efficacy and safety throughout the production cycle is the key goal of good manufacturing practices. Olga explained that the existing GMP rules are not just a formality, but a philosophy that could not be implemented in a short time. It takes continuous and scrupulous work, understanding the importance of adopting GMP standards as a code of honour of a pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Quality is a constant focus for us, from senior managers to line operators and laboratory technicians. Ongoing quality assurance is not a motto, it is our rule and philosophy!
emphasizes Quality Director at Akrikhin Olga Maklakova, a recognized expert and the winner of the Best Quality Director 2019 contest among the largest pharmaceutical companies of the IVth All-Russian GMP Conference
Live online broadcasting of the conversation with Akrikhin representatives at Pharmprobeg-2020 was available on May 29 on the project’s official website at pharmprobeg.ru.
The full version of the interview given by Akrikhin’s CEO Denis Chetverikov can be found at pharmvestnik.ru.