On October 26, the III International Pharmaceutical Forum “GlobalPharm” began its work in Astana - one of the largest events in the pharmaceutical industry, which has already become traditional in the industry.
The organizers were the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Single Distributor SK-Pharmacy LLP with the support of e-forum.net.
Vice Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan Vyacheslav Dudnik delivered a welcoming speech, noting the importance of providing the population with equal access to quality medical care and discussing current industry challenges with stakeholders.
The main goals are to help attract public and private investment in the development of pharmaceutical production in Kazakhstan, increase the export potential of domestic pharmaceutical products, increase scientific and human resources, as well as provide high-quality and modern medical equipment to healthcare organizations and establish constructive interaction in the development of domestic production.
The event was held in a hybrid format - combining offline and online elements. The drivers of the forum were a round table, a panel discussion, strategic and business sessions, after which the discussions moved to thematic sessions.
The entire program includes presentations by representatives of industry ministries and associations, top managers of major global pharmaceutical companies, domestic pharmaceutical factories, as well as representatives of companies engaged in related industries, including logistics and storage, packaging and labeling, and track and trace systems.
The audience was presented by global expert practitioners on pharmaceutical issues, world-famous scientists and medical practitioners, major manufacturers, heads of Central government bodies and National companies, Kazakh and foreign entrepreneurs from more than 20 countries.
Previously, the Head of State instructed to intensify cooperation with global pharmaceutical corporations, attract investors, and ensure the transfer of technologies and the latest developments. The share of domestically produced medicines and medical products must be increased to 50% already in 2025, the President noted.
First of all, a round table started with the participation of the Vice Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the CEOs of large pharmaceutical companies. Thus, the speakers of the round table were the Vice Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan Vyacheslav Dudnik, the head of the Medical Center of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alexey Tsoi, as well as representatives of large pharmaceutical companies, including Roche, Pfizer, Janssen, Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk, Takeda, Bayer, STADA , AstraZeneca and BIOCAD.
During the round table, speakers discussed the single market of medicines and medical devices - the experience of the EAEU and the EU, the export potential of Kazakhstan in the context of new geopolitical realities, long-term contracts, the development of contract manufacturing, localization of production, overcoming obstacles and identifying new directions: supply chains, protection of intellectual property rights and the commercial segment of the pharmaceutical market.
Today, the country is implementing a Comprehensive Plan for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry until 2025, and the National Project “Healthy Nation” for 2021-2025 has been developed, where one of the directions is the “Domestic Pharmaceutical Industry of Kazakhstan”.
Kazakhstan has a fairly high investment potential. A number of advantages include a geostrategic location, transit and logistics potential, a rich resource base, international trade and investment agreements, as well as access to major world markets.
The domestic pharmaceutical market is of great interest to international investors who are looking for new opportunities in emerging markets. According to experts, Kazakhstan has the potential to double capacity in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan supports initiatives on the implementation of investment projects. In addition, in order to fruitfully interact with the global pharmaceutical industry and find effective ways to localize the production of innovative pharmaceutical products from recognized brands, state support measures are being created in Kazakhstan.
The result of all the measures taken by the state in attracting investors and technology transfer, and agreements during repeated meetings with global players in the pharmaceutical industry, was the signing of a number of Memorandums of Cooperation:
• between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Johnson & Johnson LLC;
An agreement was reached on the development of contract manufacturing of medicines in Kazakhstan and technology transfer in the field of clinical research.
• between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Bayer KAZ LLP;
The joint strategic partnership is aimed at developing the clinical research market and transfer of advanced technologies.
• between SK-Pharmacia LLP and Kyrgyzpharmacy State Enterprise under the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic;
As part of cooperation, the southern neighbors initiated joint procurement of medicines and medical products with the Single Distributor SK-Pharmacia LLP.
• between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Santo (JSC "Khimpharm");
The parties expressed their readiness to develop the potential of the cluster and the research sector. The R&D center of the SANTO company plays an important role in this direction, which became the basis for combining the functions: research and production as part of the cluster.
• between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and BIOCAD (JSC BIOCAD).
The Russian biopharmaceutical company BIOCAD is interested in investing in new pharmaceutical production in Kazakhstan, in particular the production of oncology and autoimmune drugs.
As a result, an agreement was reached between the parties to expand the range of interaction, establish bilateral ties through the exchange of information and experience, improve the drug supply system for the population, develop the Kazakh pharmaceutical industry and increase the competitiveness of manufactured medicines, taking into account modern technical solutions.
The key to success in taking the Kazakh pharmaceutical industry to a new level is innovation. Thus, within the framework of the strategic session “Innovation: a necessity or a privilege?”, topics such as state policy in the field of circulation of medicines, the role of the National Research Center for Healthcare in the accessibility of innovation, innovation as a key to achieving strategic healthcare goals, growth in healthcare financing and the search for optimal solutions were touched upon. analytics-based: an alternative approach. One of the speakers at the strategic session was the Chairman of the Board of SK-Pharmacia LLP, Erkhat Iskaliev.
Along with this, a panel discussion was held on the topic “Value-based approach - results-based management of the healthcare system.” Participants reviewed global trends in value-based healthcare, innovative healthcare reimbursement models, digital tools being used to improve population access to medicines, and value-based healthcare in oncology and orphan diseases.
The introduction of value-based healthcare or Value-Based Healthcare (VBH) in Kazakhstan is due to the fact that the payment system for medical care takes into account only its volumes, and not the achievement of a treatment result that is significant for the patient.
According to international experience, the introduction of a value-based approach can improve the quality of medical care and optimize costs. The introduction of VBH principles also seems appropriate in the procurement of medicines and medical devices, in the process of their pricing and reimbursement.
The business session “Regulatory regulation of the drug market” is devoted to the prospects for the development of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, barriers and challenges. Measures to stimulate the localization of innovative drugs in Kazakhstan.”
Availability of medicines is the most important aspect in protecting the health of the country’s citizens and ensuring the quality of life of patients. At the same time, both assortment availability (defect-free access) and price must be ensured. Measures to ensure the availability of medicines are implemented through various legal instruments: protecting the rights to medicines, regulating prices for certain medicines, providing preferences for participation in public procurement, etc.
The key legal issue in this regard is finding the necessary balance between satisfying the interests of various market players and achieving the maximum level of satisfaction of public interest.
The final stage of the international forum was the thematic sessions “Current issues in the field of clinical research”, “Development of a trade and logistics pharmaceutical hub in Kazakhstan. Information technologies and means of communication in logistics" and "Continuing pharmaceutical education: problems and prospects."
At the end of the forum, the participants expressed gratitude for the creation of a unique dialogue platform and interest in mutual cooperation, expansion of investment interaction and localization of production through technology transfer in the pharmaceutical industry of Kazakhstan.
The international pharmaceutical forum “Global Pharm” has become traditional and became the third in a row this year. The event opens up many platforms for dialogue and includes B2B and G2B meetings with the largest companies in the pharmaceutical industry and representatives of government agencies in Kazakhstan.
Let us note that the performance of this year’s participants is significantly higher than last year’s. It should be noted that this year the forum was attended by about 200 delegates from more than 10 countries, another 1.2 thousand connected online. Participants represented over 60 different companies
