The Executive Director of the VIC Group took part in the discussion of the draft law on the abolition of the GMP certificate for imported veterinary drugs.

The agenda included a discussion of draft amendments to the federal law "On the Circulation of Medicines," which had been submitted to the State Duma. The proposal called for a concession for foreign manufacturers of veterinary drugs: deferring the mandatory compliance of foreign production standards with Russian GMP standards until January 1, 2026.

According to Sergei Mitin, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy, adoption of this amendment could negatively impact the quality and efficacy of veterinary drugs, animal safety, and pose a threat to the country's biological security.

Sergey Kasparyants, Executive Director of the VIK Group of Companies and a representative of the business community , noted that changing the law's effective dates will significantly increase the financial burden on domestic companies. Many of them are actively investing in new production facilities and research projects. VIK Group, the largest manufacturer of veterinary drugs in the CIS, plans to invest 10 billion rubles in development from 2020 to 2026.

• 2 billion rubles - for the modernization of current facilities and research ;
• 8 billion rubles for innovative production sites that ensure independence from imported veterinary pharmaceuticals.

During this period, the company's research and development center is developing and preparing for release over 200 new products. These projects are expected to create over 400 new jobs. The average salary for these jobs will be 100,000 rubles (above the average in the Moscow region).

Olga Nikolaicheva, Deputy Director of the Veterinary Department of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, and Anna Babushkina, Deputy Head of the State Veterinary Supervision Department of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, gave their assessment of the project.

Following the meeting of the working group, the senators made a collective decision not to support this bill .