The Federal Service for the Oversight of Public Health and Social Affairs is demanding a license suspension for Bryntsalov-A, controlled by Russian pharmaceuticals and vodka oligarch Vladimir Bryntsalov, following a series of inspections by the service and police, the latter reporting counterfeit medicines uncovered at the company's storehouse.
A correspondent reported from the courtroom that hearings have been delayed so that the plaintiff can study materials presented by defense representatives. It is the second pause in hearings after the court adjourned proceedings October 30 to study new evidence.
But Bryntsalov-A called on the service to withdraw its suit, saying that all violations uncovered by inspectors have been corrected. "The most serious violations were corrected during the inspection itself," the company said in a letter to service head Ramil Khabriyev.
The enterprise said the suspension of its activities for up to 90 days, which the service demands, will undermine the government's federal program to provide medicines for the country's poor, to which the company contributes 12 million rubles ($450,000) worth of medication.
Besides, the company continued, the measure could jeopardize the output of 165 medicines currently in demand and fuel a price rise, which could harm the poor.
"Over 2,000 employees of Bryntsalov-A, including welfare recipients, single mothers and people older than 45, will have to be laid off as a result," the company said.
Suspension measures can also cause the company's bankruptcy, as losses from fines and a pause in sales may hit 210 million rubles (about $8 million). The federal budget will also lose considerable tax revenue, which totaled 130 million rubles ($4.9 million) over the first nine months of the year, the company said in the letter.
