PROMOMED – Investor's Day: innovative drugs and medicine of the future

Promomed presented medicines for previously incurable and chronic diseases.

© Photo provided by the Promomed press service
PROMOMED – Investor's Day: innovative drugs and medicine of the future

"The pharmaceutical business is not really a business, we, like doctors in the operating room, save millions of lives just by making good medicines. For us, there is no difference between the nosologies of the disease, the main challenges are obesity, oncology and the problems of degradation of the central nervous system," said Peter Bely, founder and main shareholder of Promomed, answering a question from Dmitry Kiselyov, CEO of the international media group Rossiya Segodnya.

Peter Bely, together with Kira Zaslavskaya, Director of New Products, presented domestic drugs Tirzetta® and Velgia®, which treat diabetes, reduce excess weight and reduce cardiovascular risks.

"The treatment of obesity is ten times less strokes, heart attacks and cancer cases, therefore Promomed forms a new approach to the treatment of metabolic disorders: every doctor, regardless of specialization, should participate in the treatment of obesity," Bely emphasized.

Kira Zaslavskaya added that, in addition to diabetes, Tirzetta® and Velgia® are effective in treating more than ten common diseases. At the same time, the cost of one day of Velgia therapy, according to her, is "less than the price of a cup of coffee."

According to Petr Bely, Promomed is currently developing a next-generation drug for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. It may enter the market as early as 2028.

"We have won the victory over metabolic diseases, but we need to go further. We are preparing a next–generation drug, a triple agonist, which will be a "happiness drug." It completely evens out the sugar curve, and at the same time increases energy production, a person really "flies". This reflects our goal, the DNA of our company – not just to cure a person, but to make him healthy, beautiful and happy," said the founder of Promomed.

The company estimates that the future global market for triple agonists is estimated at at least $32 billion.

The second main direction is the fight against oncological diseases. Here Promomed is working on breakthrough multi-tool solutions for total victory over cancer.

"We are developing a platform when a person's own immune system starts killing a cancer cell. At the same time, a multi-targeted approach will ensure the effectiveness of the drug for a number of oncological diseases at once. We will start these studies in 2026 and go further: in 2027 we will start creating a completely new drug, when all the modification will take place inside the human body," said Zaslavskaya.

The company believes that a cure for cancer should be available to every patient. Therefore, Promomed plans to launch oncovaccines on the market.

"Defeating cancer is a matter of 3-5 years, but then this therapy can be made much more accessible. The cancer vaccine we are developing will cost no more than $100. It will be a real revolution – in every village where there is a medical and obstetric center, a person will be able to receive the vaccine at the first suspicion and go for further examination. This is a huge number of lives saved, it is tens of millions of people in Russia, which will be able to work and will be able to create added value and pay taxes," Bely said, adding that the company predicts a twentyfold growth in the market for innovative cancer drugs in the coming years.

The third major area is the creation of drugs for the treatment of diseases related to neurodegradation: Alzheimer's disease, all types of dementia, Parkinson's disease and others.

"Promomed is already launching two such drugs on the market this year, eight more are expected in the next two years, and by 2035 we intend to defeat these diseases," said Kira Zaslavskaya.

Strategy and results

Alexander Yefremov, the company's CEO, spoke about the company's future strategy.

"We are implementing a strategy with a focus on faster growth, which naturally leads to increased shareholder value and stronger leadership in key segments. Thus, due to the introduction of innovations and increased efficiency, the company's revenue has more than quadrupled in five years," said Yefremov.

He spoke about the launch in 2024 of a modern production line for pre-filled syringes with a capacity of 12,000 units per hour.

"We have sufficient production capacity to supply our country and neighboring countries and start deliveries to foreign countries," the CEO noted.

According to the company, today there are over 350 drugs in its portfolio and more than 150 more are in development. In 2024, 75 medical studies were conducted, and export sales increased by 56% during the period. The company actively uses artificial intelligence and digital solutions to accelerate the launch of products on the market. The marketing strategy covers 300 cities and 65,000 pharmacies.

"We are not just following the 'molecule to patient' strategy, but we have also gone further by launching the country's first subscription for course therapy drugs in collaboration with the Sber ecosystem," Yefremov said.

In turn, Timofey Solovyov, Promomed's chief financial officer, announced the company's financial results for 2024.

Thus, the group's net profit, adjusted for one–time expenses, increased by 22% last year, exceeding 4 billion rubles, and revenue increased by 35% to 21.4 billion rubles. The growth rate of revenue significantly outpaced the growth rate of the pharmaceutical market, which amounted to about 18%.

EBITDA increased by 31% to 8.2 billion rubles, with a margin of 38%. The company confirmed forecasts according to which revenue growth for the current year will be at least 75%.

Solovyov also highlighted the withdrawal rate of drugs from pharmacies. According to independent monitoring data, this indicator for the company amounted to 85.9% in 2024, which indicates a high demand and increased demand for Promomed drugs from patients.

According to Solovyov, Promomed's average annual revenue growth rate is 33%, which proves the correctness of the chosen strategy of relying on innovative drugs, the share of sales of which in revenue increased to 59%.

"We have significantly increased exports, as well as exceeded the financial promises we made during our IPO on the Moscow Stock Exchange. These achievements were made possible by our strict commitment to our strategy, which is based on the development of innovative drugs, the implementation of best practices for promotion and increased operational efficiency. Significant revenue and profitability growth on a par
The reduction of the debt burden confirms the sustainability of our business model. The successes achieved allow us to confirm ambitious goals for bringing innovative drugs to the market and financial forecasts for 2025," concluded Yefremov.

Sources

1. RIA News