OREANDA-NEWS. March 09, 2012. RUSNANO and Domain Associates, a U.S. venture capital firm specializing in leading-edge life sciences technologies, today announced a partnership that will spur modernization of the Russian healthcare market by bringing next-generation pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics to Russia.

RUSNANO and Domain have signed an investment agreement under which they will jointly invest in emerging life sciences technology companies, foster transfer of technology into Russia, and establish manufacturing facilities in Russia for production of advanced therapeutic products for the treatment of medical conditions including viral infections, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and others.

RUSNANO and Domain’s venture capital funds will co-invest in approximately 20 US-based healthcare technology companies. Target companies will include groups developing innovative products in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and other areas of life sciences, that have significant applications for patient populations in Russia, and that complement RUSNANO’s focus on nanotechnology-based innovation.

RUSNANO and Domain will jointly establish a pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing facility in Russia that meets GMP standards. The joint venture will leverage the innovations created by Domain and RUSNANO’s investment portfolio companies, and will obtain exclusive rights to manufacture and market products based on these innovations in Russia and the CIS.

RUSNANO and Domain’s venture capital funds, together with other co-investors, are expected to invest approximately USD 760 million into portfolio companies and the manufacturing facility in Russia.

The joint venture will manage advanced-stage clinical trials in Russia of new pharmaceuticals and other products that will support regulatory approval of these products in Russia, the United States and other markets.

“Life sciences portfolio companies constitute approximately 20 percent of RUSNANO actual investments. We are working hard to spur development of innovative technologies in the Russian healthcare industry,” said Anatoly Chubais, Chief Executive Officer of RUSNANO. “I am confident that this partnership will make a strong contribution toward driving innovation in the domestic pharmaceutical industry.”

“We expect Domain’s collaboration with RUSNANO to provide a significant boost to the modernization efforts of the Russian pharmaceutical and medical technology industry,” said Brian Dovey, Partner at Domain. “For our portfolio companies, this strategic relationship opens up new attractive avenues for financing. Finally, we are excited about the commercial potential of establishing a cutting-edge production facility in Russia.”

The partners have engaged Team Drive, a management company led by former Sistema and MTS CEO Leonid Melamed, to develop the project.

“RUSNANO’s realization of this project will expedite the arrival of next-generation medicines to the Russian market, providing Russian patients with access to the most modern pharmaceuticals at the same time as other patients around the world, and in some cases earlier. In addition, this partnership is a big step forward for the Russian venture capital industry in the healthcare market. We are delighted that RUSNANO has selected our team to drive this promising initiative forward,” commented Leonid Melamed, Chairman of Team Drive.