Committee on Social and Cultural Development and Science of the Senate of Parliament of Kazakhstan has hosted the meeting on discussion of the issues provision of the population with medicines.

Deputies were interested in problems of purchase of medicines, equipment of ambulances, quality of imported medicines, measures of the state support of domestic manufacturers and others. Vice Minister of Health Kamalzhan Nadyrov, Head of SK- Pharmacy and the National Centre for Drug Expertise. Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Atameken NCE RK Yuliya Yakupbaeva spoke on state support of domestic pharmaceutical production:

"The issue of pharmaceutical supply is very sensitive to the population. People are interested in three simple things - the price, quality, and affordability, and availability of medicines. In this regard, all advanced countries are trying to develop their pharmaceutical industry. And although the share of imported drugs is still significant, the product line of domestic pharmaceuticals is already about 2,000 items. Kazakhstan produces medicines for the treatment of the cardiovascular system, respiratory organs, nervous system, digestive tract and metabolism, urogenital system, musculoskeletal system, dermatological diseases, antiparasitic and antitumoral medicines. Antibiotics and antiviral drugs, etc. are produced. Only hormonal drugs, vaccines and serums are not produced," Yuliya Yakupbaeva said.

In many ways, this result was achieved due to the long-term contracts with the United Distributor - SK- Pharmacy. In just ten years, long-term contracts for the amount of about KZT1 trillion were concluded. And long-term contracts have objectively become a benchmark for investors, both domestic and foreign. 

"But there are problems today, and we discussed them at the level of Deputy Prime Minister literally before the New Year. First of all,  the issue of improper procurement planning. Adjustment of the volume of the purchase can reach up to 25%. But this is a huge amount. Losses, which as a result of improper planning of organizations are incurred by business, do not allow for normal operation, planning of work, to pay salaries to employees, not to mention the issues of development of the enterprise,” Deputy Chairman of the Board stressed.

 Secondly, the terms of contracts are not clear. There are complaints from manufacturers when not only volumes but also purchase prices change significantly. Investor risks are not closed, moreover, the requirements for production and expertise are very strict.

"It takes 3 to 5 years to start production of medicinal products. It is necessary to build a plant, build processes in accordance with international best practices, to conduct the appropriate certification, to obtain a license for production, to register a drug. Carry out expert/ safety assessment/marketing activities, etc. As a result, for an investor who has concluded a long-term contract with the state and has gone through this entire thorny path, it is a surprise that the drugs are not purchased, returned, and the produced drugs are not paid on time," Yuliya Yakupbaeva added.

These factors have a negative impact on the desire of investors to invest in this segment, slowing down the process of import substitution in pharmaceuticals.

Domestic producers work not only for government procurement. According to the results of 2018, exports amounted to almost 30 million dollars, and the representation in retail is also growing.

"The project of the Road Map of measures of state support for the domestic manufacturers was developed together with the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Health and Business. It contains both solutions to the above-mentioned problems and measures for partial subsidizing of a part of costs for financing, clinical trials, etc. "In cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Health and Business developed a draft roadmap of measures of state support for domestic manufacturers. If these measures are supported, then, accordingly, the cost of manufactured products will be reduced, accessibility for the population will increase and export volumes will increase," the speaker said.

Another measure to increase the availability of medicines to the public is the widespread development of digitalization. The Code "On Healthcare" has already established a norm about the need to indicate in the prescription the active substance instead of the trade name (eg pentalgin). But not everyone is aware of it. The mobile application should also contain information about where and what preparations for this active substance are sold, how much they cost and who their manufacturer is. As a result, the patient will be able, focusing on their finances and location, to choose a medicine from the offered assortment.

"We are sure that in the 21st century the emphasis in price regulation should not be on the human factor, but on digital technologies," Yuliya Yakupbaeva summed up.