The facility will be constructed in the Novoorlovskaya Special Economic Zone (SEZ), located to the north of the St. Petersburg city center.
Once completed and approved for commercial production, which is expected in 2014, the facility will produce approximately 1.5 billion units of both innovative pharmaceuticals and generics per year.
Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez said the plant in St. Petersburg is the latest step in their strategy to bring both innovative pharmaceuticals and low cost, high quality generics closer to patients and customers in Russia.