Indian pharmaceutical companies have expressed keen interest to set up units in Russia for producing generic drugs, which will give a fillip to the growing economic partnership between the two countries, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said here on the eve of his two-day visit from June 18 to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

“The Russian side is preparing a list of medicines it needs and as soon as the list is finalised, things will start moving,'' Mr. Sharma said.

Russia has been keen on Indian investment in this sector and expanding the economic relationship from the public sector companies to the private sector. In 2009, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and co-Chairman of the Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation Sergei Sobyanin had urged the Indian pharmaceutical companies to invest in Russia.

Mr. Sharma is confident that his visit will give a new dimension to Indo-Russian economic cooperation. It is understood that both governments could even sign joint agreements on the production of pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Sharma is scheduled to meet President Dmitry Mededev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and is likely to take up the issue of India's interest in joining hands with Russian companies to explore the rich natural resources as well as metals and fertilizers.

Emerging markets such as India and China are set to overtake major developed drug markets of the world, with significant increase in pharmaceutical sales through 2013, says a study.

AstraZeneca lifted the veil a bit today on its plans to become a bigger player in emerging markets, saying sales in those those countries will double to account for about a quarter of the British company’s total revenue by 2014.

Acquisitions and alliances are a way to grow for most global pharma companies in India – a key country in emerging markets. But they know, to grow their portfolio here, field force expansions and investments in more products is critical.