Innovative profile of the Russian pharmaceutical industry

The article examines the specifics of innovative activity of Russian drug manufacturers, which in the context of a COVID-19 pandemic become a matter of national security. The research is based on panel data: out of a total of 1,816 enterprises in the industry, a sample of 345 innovatively active enterprises is formed with a time series of data 20 years long. The sample is diversified by the scale of enterprise activity into 4 groups: micro enterprises, small, medium, and large enterprises. These types of enterprises are compared both in absolute terms size of investments in intangible assets, age, and in relative ones frequency of investments in innovations, coefficient of autonomy, profitability of sales and assets, share of intangible assets in revenue and assets. The analysis was supplemented by enterprises not included in the sample to identify the effectiveness of innovation in the industry. The result is the innovative profile of industrial enterprises in the context of the scale of their activities. The conclusion is drawn about the specifics of the domestic pharmaceutical industry innovation activity, which generally coincides with the established distribution of roles in the global pharmaceutical industry, when large enterprises are leaders in the innovations development and implementation. Russian large companies also tend to use micro enterprises to implement risky projects. The authors conclude that in Russia, the foundations have been formed for transition to a new model of pharmaceutical industry innovative development. This model is based on cooperation of small and large businesses.

Automated summary

The study found that the pharmaceutical industry in Russia exhibits distinct characteristics in terms of innovation activity, with large enterprises taking the lead in innovation development and implementation, while also preferring to cooperate with micro enterprises for risky projects. Russia has laid the foundation for transitioning to a new model of innovative development in the pharmaceutical industry, emphasizing cooperation between small and large businesses.