MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. Russia’s traceability system for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) will become operational on September 1, 2024 at the earliest, Russian Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Ekaterina Priezzheva told TASS in an interview.

"We are preparing a draft resolution. We anticipate this mechanism will go live on September 1, 2024. This deadline has been agreed upon with the industry. We are providing an opportunity for all those seeking to use these support measures to become technically and organizationally prepared for the new rules of the game within the market," the official said.

The Industry and Trade Ministry is offering a new support mechanism for investment projects aimed at carrying out full-cycle production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, Priezzheva said. This is a cluster investment platform enabling businesses to borrow subsidized investment credits ranging from one billion to one hundred billion rubles ($10.5 mln - $1 bln) at a rate of 5.55% per annum. Such loans will be extended for the investment phase implementation time plus two years.

"To confirm actual implementation of production stages and not merely such technical capability, the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry is developing a traceability system for active pharmaceutical ingredients. This is an automated digital system ‘pulling in’ resources from other interagency systems, so that we are confident that a manufacturer claiming these new support measures is indeed producing everything locally," she added.