This report outlines potential opportunities for U.S. medical companies in Sverdlovsk Oblast. Although Russian medical equipment is cheaper, local customers often prefer higher quality foreign products. The Urals branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences includes 17 research institutes and ranks as one of the country's finest academies after its counterpart organizations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The region is also home to 18 institutes of higher education and 107 specialized research and development institutes. These institutes primarily conduct research in industries traditionally associated with the Urals, including mining and metallurgy, machine building, chemistry, energy, construction, transport, communications, food processing, medicine and pharmacology.
Local hospitals treat more than one million people annually.
18 former defense companies in Sverdlovsk Oblast design and develop new medical equipment. 452 wholesale medical equipment distributors and 200 drug stores and medical kiosks operate here. Although both the federal and local government push medical institutions to purchase Russian-made equipment, Russian manufacturers are hampered by a lack of working capital. Companies must incur huge start-up costs to fund research and product development. Over 40 companies participated in the exhibition, which was supported by the Sverdlovsk Oblast government and a German firm, IEG Solingen.