Fort Biopharmaceutical company

FORT LLC (enters Marathon Group, shareholders are also JSC Nacimbio and Megard Group LLC) is the biopharmaceutical company which is engaged in development, production and promotion of biological medicines for prevention of socially important infectious diseases and also a number of unique medicines in those therapeutic areas where the greatest in them is observed requirement. In particular, it is immunology, rheumatology, nephrology, oncology.

Production capacities "FORT" are provided modern large-scale biotechnology. The scientific-industrial complex which opening took place in April, 2014 is located in the Ryazan region, has infrastructure of providing a full production cycle and conforms to the international requirements of GMP. Thanks to existence of own research and production FORT division has an opportunity to perform rational import substitution at the most modern level of biotechnologies.

Main products of the plant are the anti-influenza vaccines "Ultriks" (own development) and Sovigripp (development of JSC NPO Mikrogen). Transfer of the Production Technology of Vaccine Sovigripp on the production site Fort was performed in December, 2015 – March, 2016.

History

2020: Nacimbio - the only owner of Fort company

At the end of December, 2020 it became known of increase in a share of Nacimbio holding (enters into Rostec state corporation) in biopharmaceutical company "Fort" — from 25% to 100%.

Thus, became Nacimbio the only owner of the producer of vaccines against flu which in this market occupies one of the leading positions, noted in the press service of Rostec.

Acquisition of Fort is an important stage in strategy implementation of holding which purpose – to create the powerful player in the Russian market of immunobiological medicines, capable to provide complete independence of domestic health care of their deliveries from abroad — the CEO of Nacimbio Andrey Zagorsky said.

Nacimbio became the only owner of biopharmaceutical company "Fort"

The shares in Fort of Nacimbio sold Marathon Group of Alexander Vinokurov and Sergey Zakharov and the founder of Fort Anton Katlinsky. The financial making transactions do not reveal.

The head of Rostec Sergey Chemezov calls Fort one of "the most fast-growing" assets in the Russian pharmatsvetichesky industry. Annually the enterprise produces more than 30 million doses of the preventive medicines from flu corresponding to international quality standards including more than 10 million doses of tetravalent vaccine. Capacities allow to increase in the long term production of tetravalent vaccine to 50 million doses a year that Fort in one row with the largest global manufacturers puts. Consolidation of actions will allow us to develop more effectively the enterprise, to prormote production in the Russian and foreign markets, Chemezov told.

In 2020 Fort delivered vaccines within the national calendar of preventive inoculations and direct contracts with Russian regions and also exported vaccines to Belarus, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.^[1]

2018

Growth in sales of the anti-influenzal vaccine "Ultriks"

The biopharmaceutical company "Fort" announced on June 29, 2018 that in 2018 it doubled sales of the anti-influenzal vaccine "Ultriks" in comparison with 2017. Sales amount of preventive medicine in the commercial market was 765 thousand doses. Vaccine is intended for prevention of children's and adult population.

The trivalent inactivated vaccine of the last generation "Ultriks" is own development Fort. Medicine is bought for immunization of Russia by both state customers, and commercial structures. It is planned that medicine will arrive to customers by the beginning of a preventive season.

Enterprise capacities are up to 120 million doses of vaccine against pandemic flu a year, 40 million — against seasonal and up to 20 million doses of other antiviral vaccines. In 2017 Fort made and delivered more than 19.5 million doses of the vaccines "Ultriks" and "Sovigripp" for prevention of flu. Volume covered 100% of need for vaccines for the children's population within the National calendar of preventive inoculations and more than 30% of cumulative need for influenzal vaccines for all population of Russia. In total since 2015 the plant produced nearly 30 million doses of vaccines against flu.

As noted in the company, infrastructure opportunities Fort allow to create workshops for localization of production of the vaccines which are not provided in Russia. In plans of the company — project implementation on a transfer of production technologies of vaccines against a hemophilic infection, rotavirus, etc.

Ivan Chekalnikov's appointment CEO

In March, 2018 Ivan Chekalnikov headed biopharmaceutical company "Fort". Read more here.

Debt restructuring to Vnesheconombank

In 2011 the credit agreement between Vnesheconombank and FORT LLC on construction of the plant in the amount of 4.8 billion rubles with a repayment period till 2021 was signed. According to conditions of 2018 of cooperation of 2018, repayment of a body of a debt and most part of the accrued interest is referred for 2022-2029, and the debt load is considerably reduced.

Debt restructuring will allow to direct the released resources to investments into expansion of a product portfolio. The business plan of development of the plant assumes an output to the market of several types of domestic vaccines and production of 30 million doses of vaccines against seasonal flu or 120 million vaccines against pandemic flu, 20 million doses of other antiviral vaccines, 100 million doses of recombinant pharmaceutical proteins and to 500 million special dosage forms of biological products a year. Besides, infrastructure opportunities of the enterprise allow to create new workshops for localization of production of the vaccines which are not provided in Russia.

In 2017 FORT LLC performs production and delivery more than 19.5 million doses of vaccine for prevention of flu in the prefilled syringes for children's and adult population that makes 100% of need for vaccines for the children's population within NKPP and more than 30% of cumulative need for influenzal vaccines for all population.

2017: "FORT" will invest 2.2 billion rubles in production of vaccines of new generation

In November, 2017 in Ryazan the governor of the Ryazan region Nikolay Lyubimov and the president of FORT LLC entering into holding Marathon Pharma, Katlinsky Anton signed the agreement on prolongation till 2022 of the term of providing the state support to the enterprise.

The previous investment agreement was signed in 2011 and provided support of the investment project "Creation of the Innovation Complex on Development, Implementation and Production of Medicines based on Biotechnologies and Nanotechnologies" in the form of reduction in tax for profit regarding transfer in the regional budget for 4% and decrease in a rate on the property tax for 1.6%. The total amount of the state support in a type of privileges on the taxes enlisted in the regional budget will be 625 million rubles, the volume of tax deductions of Fort LLC will exceed 1.5 billion rubles.

The decision on prolongation of the agreement was made by the government of the Ryazan region in connection with significant change of parameters of the investment project.

So, lately the amount of the investments involved in development of the plant increased by 2.2 billion rubles and will be 5.7 billion rubles. Funds will be allocated for expansion of the nomenclature of the turned-out immunobiological products, in particular, on start of production of vaccines against chicken pox, measles, a rubella and a rotavirus infection. It will allow the company to become the only local producer of similar medicines of a full stroke.

FORT LLC is going to create also till 2023 in addition more than 200 jobs.

"Within import substitution program implementation we are going to increase loading of industrial complex in Ryazan due to production of the new vaccines demanded by the Russian health care system. Cooperation with partners, first of all – with the regional government is important for implementation of strategic tasks. As a result of joint efforts the increased production volumes will be able to provide requirements not only Russia, but also the neighboring countries", – the CEO of Nacimbio Andrey Zagorsky commented on agreement signature.