Glenmark's Russian operations have evolved and metamorphosed along with the changes in the social, economic and political setup of Russia. The company entered the Russian market in the mid-eighties, by wining a government tender for Candid Cream. With the fall of communism and opening up of economy, Glenmark refocused and re-aligned its business strategies and started focusing on the private market. A representative office was opened in the 2001 and product promotion initiated. This approach has held the company in good stead as it is steadily growing and enjoying success with its key brands like the Candid range and Ascoril.

Glenmark has adopted a high growth strategy in order to capitalize on the opportunities posed by the new business environment in Russia over the last few years. In order to do so the company first embarked on an intense organizational building activity that involved the right recruitment of talent to putting a strategic plan in place. In April 2006 established the its wholly-owned Russian subsidiary, Glenmark Impex and started full commercial operations, importing products, sales, distribution and marketing. The company then opened its own warehouse and started selling directly to a select group of five key distributors.

The Russian market is branded generics market with demand generation and product differentiation being key success factors for growth. Glenmark has identified key therapeutic areas of focus - Dermatology, Gynecology, Respiratory and Gastroentology, with an objective to achieve leadership in these segments.

The company plans to launch innovative, differentiated products in these select segments to full fill the unmet needs of the doctors of Russia. Glenmark has adopted a science based marketing strategy to promote its products to the medical fraternity of Russian. The company has a highly skilled and talented pool of professionals working in the company from HR, Finance, Registration, Logistics to marketing and Sales. The company focuses a lot of attention on building its employees and conducts regular training and development programs for its employees. The marketing team is focused on select therapeutic areas, i.e. Dermatology, Respiratory and Gastroenterology. A Key Opinion Leader programme was launched to build relationship with key specialists to advocate the company's products. Over the last 2 years the company has expanded its reach and coverage in Russia and today the company has medical representatives in around 40 cities of Russia. There are dedicated Key account managers dedicated for relationship building with distributors, pharmacy networks and hospitals.

Currently Glenmark is marketing 12 brands in Russia. Out of this our flagship brand Ascoril is the number 1 liquid expectorant in the market. Glenmark is the only company in Russia that provides a comprehensive and innovative solution for various anti fungal treatments with its Candid Range of products - Candid Cream, Candid B Cream, Candid Mouth Paint, Candid Lotion, Candid V 6 Tablets, Candid V1 Tablets and Candid V Gel. Candid Cream is the number 1 in the clotrimazole cream market. The other fast growing brands are Candibiotic, Keto Plus, Alex Plus and Relcer.

Glenmark is committed to bring innovative, high quality, differentiated products to Russia. In the year ended 2007 -08 the company has received approval for 42 new products. Going forward the company is expecting more registrations to strengthen its product basket in Russia. The last couple of years has seen the company grow rapidly and is amongst the fastest growing companies in the retail segment of the Russian ethical market.