Promomed bought a controlling stake in Berakhim from the wife of its founder

Promomed Group acquired a 51% stake in Berakhim, a chemical and pharmaceutical company. According to SPARK-Interfax, the deal was closed on January 11. The seller is the wife of the founder of the group, Peter Bely, Natalya. The representative of Promomed confirmed the fact of the transaction, but refused to answer the question whether it was monetary. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, two other co-owners of Berakhim – the founder of the enterprise Evgeny Chertorizhsky and its general director Irina Aksenova – retained their shares. The former owns 40%, the latter 9%.

Since 2005, Berakhim has been developing and producing active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and substances for their production (intermediates). The company makes substances for angio- and hepatoprotectors, antidepressants, immunostimulants, as well as antiviral, antiparkinsonian and antitumor drugs. Berakhima’s production site is located in Obninsk, Kaluga Region. The company’s revenue in 2021 according to RAS amounted to 179.1 million rubles, net profit – 34.4 million rubles, according to SPARK-Interfax.

The Promomed group produces antiviral, neurological, oncological drugs and antibiotics. In particular, drugs for the treatment of coronavirus infection are Areplivir, Esperavir and Skyvir. The company’s product portfolio includes more than 250 drugs, 80% of which are included in the list of vital and essential drugs. According to a representative of Promomed, the consolidation of Berakhim’s assets will significantly enhance the group’s ability to bring innovative products to the market.

For the production of innovative drugs, Russian companies usually produce substances on their own, while raw materials for generics are usually purchased abroad, said Natalya Rabinovich, CEO of Innovative Pharmaceuticals, which is engaged in clinical research. According to her, 90% of clinical trials of drugs are now carried out by Russian pharmaceutical companies, and the number of drugs produced in a full cycle in the country is increasing.

The share of substances localized in Russia is 12%, according to the consulting company Kept (formerly KPMG). Most of the raw materials for the production of medicines are imported to Russia from China and India. In the nine months of 2022, the total volume of shipments to the country amounted to almost 15,000 tons, from these two countries – 60% and 15%, respectively, according to the analytical company RNC Pharma. European countries account for 23%, as a rule, these are the most expensive substances.