Maria Goronovich on development of biotechnologies in Russia

The international color classification of biotechnology is widely used:

• red (medical biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals);
• white (industrial biotechnology, bioengineering, sometimes also includes molecular and cellular industrial biotechnology);
• green (agricultural biotechnology, agrobiotechnology, sometimes includes environmental biotechnology, bioenergy);
• yellow (food biotechnology);
• gray (technical, industrial biotechnology, fermentation processes, sometimes includes environmental biotechnology);
• gold (bioinformatics, nanobiotechnology);
• blue (aquatic biotechnology);
• brown (desert and arid zone biotechnology);
• purple or violet (patents, publications, discoveries, intellectual property rights);
• black (bioterrorism, biological weapons, biological crime, crop damage).

The foundations of Russia’s biotechnological base were laid back in the USSR: the industry has been persistently developing since the 1970s.

Geography of the scientific base (network of institutes of the USSR Academy of Sciences):

• five institutes of bioorganic chemistry (Moscow, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Minsk, Tashkent);
• Pushchino Scientific Center;
• more than 40 specialized institutions of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Medical Sciences and VASKHNIL.

There were more than 240 enterprises in the real sector, of which more than 40% were large-scale production facilities possessing advanced technologies and world-class equipment. By 1980, the USSR occupied 5% of the global biotechnology market (Balashov, Trigolos, 2014). After a difficult transition period for the industry in the 1990s, there was a revival at the end of the first decade of the 21st century followed by further transition to planned development.

65% of the Russian biotechnological products market is occupied by the biopharmaceutical industry, 20% by agrobiotechnology, 15% by industrial, food and forestry biotechnology (Romanov, 2012).

1. Biopharmaceuticals
Traditionally this is one of the strongest areas of development of domestic biotechnology. The biopharmaceutical industry includes production of antibiotics, immunobiological drugs, hormones and drugs based on hormones, vitamins, drugs containing microorganism cultures, amino acids, biologically active additives (BAA), medical materials and diagnostic equipment.

The largest company is R-Pharm, its portfolio includes launching the following drugs to the market:

• direct antiviral action for treatment of hepatitis C (2016);
• biotechnological drug for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (2020);
• the first drug in Russia for treatment of idiopathic recurrent pericarditis (2024).

Biocad is number two in the Forbes rating of «20 Best Pharmaceutical Companies in Russia» (2020). Its line of developments includes:

• the first Russian bio-analogues of the most important drugs based on monoclonal antibodies (rituximab (Acellbia®), trastuzumab (Herticad®) and bevacizumab (Avegra®));
• the first Russian original drug based on monoclonal antibodies for treatment of psoriasis (BIOCAD spent 8 years for its development);
• the first Russian original drug for treatment of multiple sclerosis Ivlizi®;
• as well as the first Russian pegylated interferon beta-1a for treatment of multiple sclerosis Tenexia®. In 2024, the first drug in its class for treatment of Bechterew's disease Tribuvia© was registered.

Generium, a full-cycle research and production pharmaceutical company and one of the largest manufacturers of the Sputnik V vaccine, encompasses the top-3. Its products include:

• development of "Diaskintest" for accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis;
• development of recombinant blood clotting factors for treatment of hemophilia;
• the first Russian rapid test for COVID-19;
• the first Russian biomedical cell product "Esitens" for restoration of cartilage tissue and many others.

2. Biomedicine
In the global economy, biomedicine is often considered together with biopharmaceuticals; in the Russian bioeconomy, it is extremely poorly represented (Romanov, 2012).

The enterprise Motorika can be highlighted as one of the most interesting representatives (developer of prostheses and neuro-interfaces, more than 8000 products since 2015), R-Vascular (developer and manufacturer of medical products for cardiac and neurosurgery), TestGen (developer of the first Russian test systems for non-invasive genetic prenatal diagnostics and many specific PCR kits and reagents for diagnostics), Rapid Bio (developer of rapid tests and reagents).

3. Industrial biotechnologies
This area traditionally includes biotechnology for production of antibiotics, enzymes, amino acids, bio-complexes for processing wood, grain, and minerals.

One of the most notable companies on the Russian market is Prombiotech, an innovative enterprise for deep grain processing and production of food and feed ingredients. PhosAgro also produces and distributes products based on biotechnology. Many enterprises are at the stage of establishing or designing; they have been tested on pilot sites and are preparing to enter the market.