During a plenary session of the Senate, Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev emphasized the decrease in the share of domestic medicine production in Kazakhstan, with a corresponding increase in the import of foreign medicines. He stressed the importance of raising the domestic production share in the pharmaceutical market to 50% in the coming years, aligning with World Health Organization standards.
Ashimbayev noted that despite the task set by the head of state, the current share of domestic producers in the market stands at only 10%, significantly below the desired 30%. He expressed concerns over negative trends in the market, including a decrease in the production of essential pharmaceuticals and an increase in imports.
Nurlan Iskakov, the head of the Committee for Medical and Pharmaceutical Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, explained that the slight drop in the share of domestic production was due to the mass production of domestic goods during the pandemic, such as personal protective equipment and the domestic COVID-19 vaccine. He reassured that several projects are set to be launched this year to help balance out the figures.
Vice-Minister of Health Ayjan Esmagambetova highlighted the delayed registration of the Kazakh vaccine QazVac by the World Health Organization. The Senate had previously ratified an agreement on cooperation among CIS countries to prevent and respond to emergencies in public health.
The discussions in the Senate reflect Kazakhstan's efforts to strengthen its pharmaceutical industry, increase the production of domestic medicines, ensure self-sufficiency, and enhance healthcare security in the country.
