Frerus

2019: Postponement of production launch to 2020 with a budget of 2.7 billion rubles

On October 30, 2019, TAdviser became known that Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) in 2020 localizes the production of dialysers for blood purification in the territory of the Dubna Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Moscow Region. The volume of investments in the project amounted to 2.7 billion rubles, the capacity of the enterprise is estimated at 4.2 million capillary dialysis filters per year.

In addition to consumables for hemodialysis, the company plans to localize the production of hemodialysis devices themselves with the potential to produce up to 1,000 artificial kidney installations per year. The area of ​ ​ production workshops amounted to 12 thousand square meters. m, 240 workplaces will be created at the enterprise. The plant has already received permission to put into operation. FMC plans to bring localized products to the market in 2020 - after the completion of all certification procedures and amendments to marketing authorizations.

The Russian division of the European Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) Frerus LLC announced the construction of the Gamma NPK back in 2014. Then the cost of the project, which Frerus agreed to implement together with the Russian holding company Trekpor Technologies, was estimated at 1.3 billion rubles. It was planned to launch the complex in 2015.

However, the construction and commissioning of the facility was postponed several times, and the project cost first increased to 1.6, and then to 2 billion rubles^[1] begin^[2].

2017

New reports on plans to launch the production of filters for hemodialysis in the SEZ "Dubna"

At the end of October 2017, it became known that Frerus, the production division of Fresenius Medical Care Corporation in Russia, intends to invest in the opening of a line for the production of filters for hemodialysis in the Dubna SEZ. The investor's plans also include the expansion of the enterprise and further optimization of the product in order to achieve the required biocompatibility indicators.^[3]

We will be the first in the country to start producing the latest generation dialyzers, "said Sergey Chechulin, chief technologist of the Frerus company. - The uniqueness of the product is that it is sterilized with clean steam. Unlike alternative methods, when gas or gamma radiation is used, this is a more advanced method that allows for maximum biocompatibility. Up to 97%. The process of blood purification is painless for the patient, without damage to the membranes of blood cells.

As you know, the artificial kidney apparatus is widely used in medicine. Its main element - a single-use dialyzer - is a sterile filter that removes toxins and enriches the blood with useful substances. The product should be not only high-tech, but also as safe as possible for the human body. As of November 2017, Russian medical institutions are forced to use expensive imported filters, since they are practically not produced in Russia. It is expected that the opening of an enterprise in the Moscow region will change the situation.

Basically, hemodialysis is done for patients for free, within the framework of compulsory medical insurance, - explained Sergey Chechulin. - But budget money is spent on the purchase of dialyzers. If the product is assembled with us, in the Moscow region, and not brought from Germany, then, of course, it will begin to cost the state cheaper.

It is assumed that the enterprise in the SEZ "Dubna" will be not just a plant, but a high-tech scientific and production complex of the full cycle. Thus, the company will carry out the entire range of work - from the implementation of Fresenius Medical Care developments to the release of the finished product.

The launch of the line for the production of filters for hemodialysis is scheduled for the first quarter of 2018. According to preliminary estimates, the volume of production will be about 5 million filters per year. The products will be delivered to dialysis centers throughout Russia, including medical institutions under the Fresenius brand.

When asked how much import will be replaced, Frerus cannot yet give an accurate answer, since the indicator of the total need for products is constantly changing. At the same time, the company does not expect to take a large market share at once, but they intend to systematically develop and expand production.

Over the next two years, we are going to deliver another fully automated line, "a Frerus representative shared the company's plans. - The product itself may also be changing, as Fresenius is constantly working to improve its products. Including participation in the creation of new developments will be taken by specialists of our company.

In addition, Frerus will not limit itself to the production of dialysers only, the company plans to launch the production of artificial kidney devices, which include disposable filters for hemodialysis. The target in "Frerus" was named about 600 such devices per year.

Re-stop of the production project in the SEZ "Dubna"

On March 17, 2017, it became known that Fresenius Medical Care would postpone the launch of a research and production complex in Dubna near Moscow for 1.6 billion rubles. This follows from a message published on the website of the regional government.

We are talking about the Gamma production building, which involves the creation of a base for the production of modern innovative equipment for renal replacement therapy, including artificial kidney devices and dialysis filters.

Specific launch dates are not reported, they clarify only that it is slightly postponed in "connection with technological moments." Earlier, the facility was planned to be launched in 2017^[4].

Plan for the resumption of construction of the complex for 1.6 billion rubles in Dubna

On January 11, 2017, it became known about the plans of Fresenius Medical Care to bring back to life the project of creating a large research and production complex in the Moscow region. Its construction was previously postponed due to economic uncertainty in the country.

According to the Business Information Agency, citing the Ministry of Innovation and Investment of the Moscow Region, Fresenius Medical Care is going to launch a research and production complex in the Dubna economic zone in 2017. There will be launched the production of modern innovative equipment for renal replacement therapy, including artificial kidney devices and dialysis filters.

Due to a number of difficulties caused by the economic crisis and general instability, the project implementation time has been adjusted. However, their correction had other reasons - the scale of the object being built and the size of investments increased, - said Denis Butsaev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Moscow Region, Minister of Investment and Innovation of the Moscow Region.[5]

According to him, the total area of ​ ​ the research and production complex increased from the design 9 to 14.2 thousand square meters. m. The volume of investments in the project also increased and amounts to 1.6 billion rubles. The design capacity of the enterprise will reach 5 million dialyzators and 1 thousand artificial kidney devices per year, Butsaev said.

According to the leadership of Fresenius Medical Care, the production of dialysis equipment is a knowledge-intensive business that requires developed infrastructure and qualified personnel, so its localization in the Moscow Region science city, one of the largest scientific and production centers, is not accidental. It carries out the construction of the Gamma complex on the territory of the SEZ, its resident LLC Frerus, a subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care. 

2012: Shoigu lays a capsule at the construction of the Gamma NPK

The laying of a capsule with a message to descendants during the construction of this NPK was carried out in July 2012 with the participation of Sergei Shoigu, then the governor of the Moscow region.

In addition to the construction of a new research and production complex, the initiators of the project planned to implement a program to create a network of 150 specialized modern hemodialysis centers in the Russian regions, 12 of them in the Moscow region (in 2012-2017).

2010: Creation of the Frerus joint venture

In 2010, Fresenius Medical Care and Trekpor Technologies (part of the Concor group of companies) created the Frerus joint venture, which was registered as a resident of the Dubna special economic zone. The main goal of the enterprise is to launch a project for the construction of the GAMMA research and production complex.

NPK "GAMMA" (before that, the company "Trekpor Technologies" has already implemented the project of NPK "ALPHA" in Dubna to produce plasmofilters and devices for plasmapheresis based on track membranes), should produce medical equipment and consumables for renal replacement therapy (hemodialysis) procedures, including capillary dialysers (dialysis filters) of the latest generation, as well as devices "artificial kidney."

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