Uninterrupted provision of medicines to patients - a priority in the activities of the Unified distributor. The Unified distributor systematically and promptly addresses issues and takes measures for continuous and effective drug supply to the country's population. To achieve this, comprehensive work is being carried out in all priority areas.
In 2023, Unified distributor SK-Pharmacia LLP carried out intensive work to fulfill the instructions of the Head of State in terms of achieving intensified cooperation with global pharmaceutical corporations, attracting investors, ensuring the transfer of technologies and the latest developments, as well as increasing the share of domestically produced medicines and medical products to 50 %.
In the past year, Unified Distributor has achieved important and significant results. The year was rightfully fruitful and breakthrough for the industry. We have witnessed the emergence of global projects in the country, and global pharmaceutical market players are increasingly showing interest in the domestic market.
Purchase of medicines and medical products
In 2023, the Unified distributor purchased 1,571 types of medicines and medical devices for a total amount of 449.5 billion tenge. At the same time, the carryover balance covered the annual need in the amount of 1.2 billion tenge.
Speaking about the types of procurement, 758 items were purchased under long-term contracts, 148 through direct contracts, 616 through a two-stage tender and 13 through international organizations such as Unicef, UNDP and STOP-TB.
Unified distributor provides medicines to more than 2 thousand medical organizations and more than 2.2 million patients throughout the republic.
It is worth noting that budget savings based on the procurement results amounted to 21.5 billion tenge. The saved budget is used for additional purchases, which makes it possible to cover even more patients with free medicines.
Support for domestic producers
Supporting domestic production is one of the main activities of the Unified distributor. The support measure in the pharmaceutical industry is provided in the form of concluding long-term contracts.
To date, there are 96 long-term contracts concluded with 36 domestic producers for the supply of 4,411 types of medicines. Of these, 640 are medicines and 3,771 are medical devices.
In addition, for the development of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, the “Made in PharmaKZ” project was launched to support and popularize domestic medicines, medical products and medical equipment. The initiative is aimed at increasing public confidence and creating consumer patriotism among Kazakhstanis.
As part of the project, a Memorandum was signed with industry associations: ALE "Association of Manufacturers of Pharmaceutical and Medical Products of Kazakhstan "PharmMedIndustry of Kazakhstan", ALE "Association for Support and Development of Pharmaceutical Activities of the Republic of Kazakhstan", ALE "Union of Domestic Manufacturers of Medical Devices, Medical Products "Medindustry of Kazakhstan" and ALE "Association of Manufacturers of Medical Devices".
Attracting investments and cooperation with Bigpharma
The main driver of the year was the historical signing of long-term agreements with global pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Roche to localize the production of innovative original medicines in Kazakhstan. Thus, an agreement was reached on the production of the 20-valent pneumococcal vaccine by Pfizer and biotechnological medicines by Roche for the treatment of oncological diseases.
Unified Distributors have assumed the role of key partners in this historic initiative, providing distribution functions in the country. The products will be localized on the territory of the republic and supplied to medical organizations within the framework of the GVFMC and CSHI.
Another innovation of the year was the initiative to conduct group procurement, which was consolidated in the form of a Memorandum of Cooperation and Understanding concluded between the Unified distributor and the Kyrgyzpharmacy State Enterprise under the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic. It is planned to carry out the first pilot purchases for the two countries in 2024.
Continuing the work to attract BigPharma, four more Memoranda were signed with domestic and foreign companies. Thus, Kazakhstan entered into agreements with Johnson & Johnson LLC and Bayer KAZ LLP for the development of contract manufacturing of medicines and technology transfer in the field of clinical research. Also, an agreement was reached with the BIOCAD company, which is interested in investing in new pharmaceutical production in Kazakhstan, and the domestic enterprise Santo on developing the potential of the cluster and the research sector.
In addition, a Memorandum was concluded with the international biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca on the localization of innovative medicines based on Kazakhstani production.
Much work has been done to develop the domestic pharmaceutical industry in Asian countries, including China. Meetings were held with Chinese partners and a Kazakhstan-China forum. The result of constructive dialogues was the planned signing of agreements with giant companies – Mindray, Sinovac and Sinopharm on the transfer of production technologies to Kazakhstan.
On our initiative, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Medicinal Medicines and Medical Products (CCCMHPIE) and the PharmMedIndustry Association of Kazakhstan.
To fully implement the medical and pharmaceutical clusters, we negotiated with the South Korean side. During one of the meetings, a Memorandum on the creation of a medical and pharmaceutical cluster in Shymkent was signed. Next, a Memorandum was concluded between Wonju Technovalley (WMIT), a city cluster of the medical industry of South Korea, and the Association of Pharmaceutical Cluster of South Kazakhstan.
Cooperation with foreign manufacturers of medical equipment on issues of localization of production using the mechanisms of long-term contracts, offtake contracts, leasing mechanisms and life cycles is given key importance. As a result of this work, a framework agreement on investments between GE Healthcare and Kazakhstan was signed in New York in September.
Centralization of the purchase of medical equipment
It is known that, in accordance with the instructions of the Head of State, the vector was set for the transition to a centralized purchase of medical equipment based on the Unified distributor SK-Pharmacia.
In 2023, on the basis of the Unified distributor, auctions were held for the purchase of 525 units of medical equipment for a total amount of 59.6 billion tenge.
Procurement procedures are carried out on the Unified platform of the operator JSC Center for Electronic Finance of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The highest share of purchases falls on Almaty city - 65 units of medical equipment were purchased for the southern capital of the country for a total amount of 5.3 billion tenge. Then the North Kazakhstan region is in the lead; 39 units of equipment were purchased for the region for 3.6 billion tenge. The top three is closed by the Turkistan region, for which 37 units of equipment were purchased with a total cost of 5.6 billion tenge.
It is worth noting that centralization of procurement and consolidation of demand volumes from all regions allows for budget savings. As a result, according to the results of procurement, savings amounted to 4.3 billion tenge - 6.8% of which within the framework of negotiations on price reduction - 41.5 million tenge.
Conclusion
Indeed, 2023 was rightfully fruitful and productive. As in any year, the Unified distributor attaches enormous importance to the healthcare system and the health of the nation, which is an absolute social value, the basis of the national wealth and security of Kazakhstan.
The priority remains to have an established operation that can quickly and accurately respond to changes in demand, be flexible in any emergency situation and focus on patient needs.
In 2024, the Unified distributor will continue to work comprehensively in all priority areas to improve the country's medicinal provision supply system and healthcare as a whole, intending to make every possible effort to achieve even more ambitious goals and objectives for the benefit of the country!
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