An exhibition of medical technologies has opened in Almaty

Both domestic and foreign manufacturers of medical equipment took part in the work of the 27th International Healthcare Exhibition KIHE 2022. Despite a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Iteca exhibition company notes that interest in KIHE has not fallen, on the contrary, the exhibition has become more relevant.

KIHE has been acting as a platform for the demonstration of advanced medical and laboratory equipment, medicines and pharmaceuticals for almost thirty years. During this time, pavilions, participants changed, new technologies appeared, but the consistently high interest in the exhibition remained unchanged.

"We have been participating in KIHE for many years and it has become a tradition. We have been on the market for a long time and cooperate with a variety of organizations, including the Space Research Institute," says Vladimir Yashchenko, General Director of MZMO–K LLP. This company produces clean rooms with an antibacterial atmosphere and is well known in the industry.

This year, according to the organizers of the exhibition, almost 198 companies from Austria, Belarus, Great Britain, Germany, Kazakhstan, China, Lithuania, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Uzbekistan take part in KIHE 2022. It is important that almost 45% of the participants are domestic manufacturers and suppliers. Among them are Ordamed, BTL Kazakhstan, Dolce-Pharm, Beeline-Kazakhstan, OST-PHARM, Scientific and Clinical Center of Cardiac Surgery and Transplantation, Medilux, Amir and D, and many other producers.

Others, such as NASK Medical visited KIHE for the first time. According to the director of the company Alibek Nurmagambetov, they represent two brands at the exhibition – Panther Healthcare and Innalcon, and the latter came to Kazakhstan only this year.

"Innalcon manufactures ultrasound surgical systems. In terms of quality, they correspond to the best world standards, and at a price they are more affordable. This is our first time at this exhibition, and to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of organization of the exhibition and the large number of participants," Alibek Nurmagambetov said.

In addition to trading companies and equipment manufacturers, an important component of the KIHE exhibition are such industry organizations as the Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, the Eurasian Medical Association and the Association for the Support and Development of Pharmaceutical Activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan. In particular, they actively participate in the business program of the exhibition.

According to Yerkhat Iskaliyev, Chairman of the Board of SK-Pharmacy LLP, the KIHE exhibition is one of the most effective platforms in Kazakhstan not only for the presentation of the latest medical equipment, but also, most importantly, for establishing contacts, exchanging experience and professional discussions.

"The pandemic has changed the world, and the healthcare sector in its broad sense should also change. The state has set us the task of ensuring that our doctors have all the necessary medicines, and we are successfully doing this. Moreover, now we have started to carry out similar work in the field of medical equipment. We have already established contacts with the largest vendors. Today our main task is to develop standards by which we could work with hospitals and manufacturers of medical equipment," Iskaliyev said.

According to the head of SK Pharmacy LLP, there is a lot of work to be done for the company. For example, it is necessary to introduce the 1C system in medical institutions to account for stocks of medicines, resolve the issue of labeling medicines, and ensure transparent rules for the procurement of medical equipment and its maintenance.

"You can see how many products are presented here at the exhibition, to ensure that we have procured the best, that it works correctly – we need an integrated approach. Previously, doctors were one-on-one with global companies that have dozens of lawyers on staff. Now, as professional managers, we speak with vendors on an equal footing, our task is to represent the interests of Kazakhstan, to make sure that the supply of equipment goes in tight coupling with the service, this is the so-called life cycle contract," said Iskaliyev.