The Russian Federal Tax Service (FTS) visited Pharmasyntez’s plant in Irkutsk as part of a strategic session focused on the principle of human-centricity in tax administration. This principle envisions creating conditions in which citizens receive high-quality public services, excessive bureaucratic procedures are reduced, and digital interactions are made convenient and seamless. The primary objective of the visit was to examine successful employee and customer care practices in action at one of Russia's largest domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The choice of Pharmasyntez’s plant as the venue for the session was no coincidence. Founded in Irkutsk in 1997, the facility produces over 40 million packages of medicines annually, including medicines for tuberculosis, HIV infection, and chronic respiratory diseases. The company operates state-of-the-art production lines across a total area of 40,000 square meters, adhering to stringent international quality standards. The plant employs approximately 2,000 people, with an average employee age of 39 and average tenure of ten years.
The company's greatest asset is its workforce. As Alexander Shikhanov, Acting CEO of Pharmasyntez, emphasized:
Our most valuable wealth is our people. Their talents, ideas, and motivation define the success of our company.
This principle drives Pharmasyntez’s policy of active engagement in the lives of its employees, ensuring decent working conditions and a high level of social protection. The enterprise maintains safe workplaces, conducts regular occupational safety assessments, and provides supplementary medical coverage and paid preventive health check-ups. Employees have access to voluntary health insurance, financial incentives, extended leave, and social benefits during difficult life circumstances. The company actively supports professional development through systematic upskilling, mentoring programs, and educational partnerships with leading universities. This integrated approach helps build a highly skilled work team, ensuring stability and long-term competitiveness.
These very factors made Pharmasyntez a natural focus of interest for the Federal Tax Service delegation. The visit of senior officials from the FTS central office underscores the enterprise's important role in shaping a modern model of interaction between government and civil society. Pharmasyntez stands as a compelling example of successfully integrating human resources and innovative solutions into production processes, achieving sustainable growth through a comprehensive approach to personnel management and high-quality manufacturing.
It is a great pleasure to visit an enterprise of this caliber. It is especially valuable to see such close attention paid to critical areas like the development of modern pharmaceuticals and active import substitution—issues of particular importance in today's environment. I am also pleased to note the genuine care for people. The motivated support of experienced professionals, combined with the targeted recruitment of talented young people from their student years—the company is truly invested in training and developing its employees. It is also important to highlight the practice of feedback, which enables continuous improvement of workflows and the achievement of high-quality standards. Despite the differences between our sectors, our values align: people are at the center of everything, and our work is ultimately aimed at human well-being,
said Margarita Valdasovna Kovalenko, Deputy Head of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the Leningrad Region.In conclusion, the session participants emphasized the importance of maintaining the course toward stronger partnerships between the state and the real-sector economy, with the aim of modernizing Russia's economy and improving overall living standards. The recognition that human capital plays a central role in the development of any enterprise is becoming a defining element of the FTS's future strategy. Pharmasyntez’s practical experience validates the viability of this model and paves the way for meaningful transformation within government institutions.