On September 23, a meeting was held with Kazakhstani domestic producers and industry associations to discuss support for domestic production and development of the country's pharmaceutical industry.
The development of domestic pharmaceutical production is one of the priority tasks set for the industry by the Head of State. Therefore, in the work of SK-Pharmacy LLP, special attention is paid to creating favorable conditions for stimulating the development of the industry, developing mechanisms to support domestic production through a single distribution system.
The first issue on the agenda was the state policy on long-term contracts for the supply of medicines and medical devices.
Kazakhstan has created unprecedented benefits for domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers compared to any other CIS countries. Thanks to the created favorable conditions for business, the pharmaceutical industry has become one of the most rapidly developing in Kazakhstan. A guaranteed long-term market for the manufactured pharmaceutical products creates a favorable investment environment, which has made it possible to attract large international investments to the country.
The issue of the quality and safety of medicines and medical devices in Kazakhstan was not left behind. At the meeting of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the development of the medical and pharmaceutical industry, it was noted that Kazakhstan should provide its citizens with high-quality medicines of its own production. Thus, domestic manufacturers need to focus on the composition of their products in terms of ensuring the transfer of advanced technologies, localizing the production of original, innovative drugs.
To date, the ST-KZ certificate confirms that the goods are manufactured in Kazakhstan and represents preferences from the state in the form of a 10-year off-take contract for the supply of medicines and medical devices under the GVFMC and CSHI. The participants of the meeting put forward topical issues of issuing a certificate of origin for internal circulation of ST-KZ and contract manufacturing of medicines.
“Nevertheless, from time to time there are complaints about bias in pricing, in concluding long-term contracts with domestic producers and in registering products. Therefore, it was decided to create this platform for an open discussion of all problematic issues,” said Iskaliyev Yerkhat, Chairman of the Board of SK-Pharmacy LLP, in his speech.
Problematic issues faced by domestic manufacturers were voiced by representatives of industry associations. During the meeting, the inclusion of manufactured drugs in the public procurement list, new requirements that arose during the unification of regulatory legal acts in the field of medicines circulation, and other burning issues for the industry were discussed.
The head of the Single Distributor urged, taking into account the interests of domestic manufacturers, to be guided by the principles of evidence-based medicine, the effectiveness and safety of medicines, primarily respecting the interests of the citizens of Kazakhstan.
The participants also discussed management approaches in order to increase the effectiveness of activities carried out as part of the development of the pharmaceutical industry and participation in the work of the II International Pharmaceutical Forum Global Pharm.
The meeting also discussed the development of consumer patriotism. In order to promote Kazakh pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as taking into account the growing interest of the audience in medical and, especially, pharmaceutical topics, it is planned to launch the MADE IN PHARMAKZ campaigns.
As part of the MADE IN PHARMAKZ campaign, it is planned to sign a Memorandum between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and associations for the support, development of pharmaceutical and medical activities on cooperation in the implementation of information and explanatory projects. The issue of developing a Roadmap to increase public confidence through outreach through the study of the target audience and the formation of a positive public opinion in relation to medicines and medical products of domestic production is also being considered.
The obvious effect of the implementation of the above proposals will be: increasing the awareness of citizens about existing domestic developments and pharmaceutical production, the growth of a loyal audience for domestic brands, which, among other things, will have a positive impact on achieving a 50% share of DGP in the market of Kazakhstan by 2025.
The development of our own strong pharmaceutical and medical industry is quite a long, labor-intensive and expensive process. Creating conditions for import substitution of pharmaceutical and medical products based on modern technologies in accordance with international GMP standards is one of the main tasks for the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Kazakhstan.