The Russian government will provide 40 billion roubles for the modernisation of seven leading medical institutes until 2014.

As of 2007, only one out of every five drugs purchased in Russia was produced domestically, and only one of the top 20 producers of drugs sold domestically was a Russian firm.

Sandoz, the world's second largest generic medicine company, is still mulling its options for owning a plant in Russia, company chief Jeff George said in an interview.