Danish company Novo Nordisk, a world leader in production of anti-diabetic medicine, has signed an agreement to build an insulin plant in Kaluga, the regional administration's press service said on Wednesday.
The statement said that the agreement was signed by Kaluga Region Governor Anatoly Artamonov, Novo Nordisk's president and chief executive officer, Lars Revien Sorensen, and the company's vice president for CIS countries, Sergei Smirnov, in Copenhagen on the sidelines of President Dmitry Medvedev's visit.
Artamonov said the project will become another important step in creating a major pharmaceutical cluster around the Grabtsevo technopark outside Kaluga.
Under the agreement, the construction of the insulin plant, which will be 100% owned by Novo Nordisk, will have several stages, with overall investment expected to reach $80 million-$100 million.
"Each subsequent stage will be launched if the previous one is accomplished and the investment situation is favorable," the statement said. It also said that the launch of the first production line at the plant was planned for December 2012.
Sorensen said that a plan to build a plant in Russia was unprecedented not just for the company but for Danish business as a whole.
Smirnov said the Kaluga Region was picked for the project after two years of thorough research.
"We are happy with the decision and with the cooperation of the Kaluga administration in developing our project and improving the conditions for the treatment of diabetes in Russia," he said.
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
