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.

Dependence on imports, and the backward state of the industry, have led President Dmitry Medvedev to declare the modernization of the pharmaceutical industry a national priority and one of the five key priority areas for modernization.

Minister of Health and Social Development Tatyana Golikova and German Health Minister Philipp Roesler concluded an agreement on cooperation in public health.