A working meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerzhan Kosherbayev, was held to discuss the reform of the country’s pharmaceutical supply system. The discussion was prompted by the findings of a state audit conducted by the Supreme Audit Chamber (SAC), primeminister.kz reports.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Healthcare Akmaral Alnazarova, representatives of the Presidential Administration, the Supreme Audit Chamber, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Financial Monitoring Agency, and the Anti-Corruption Agency.
The audit revealed numerous violations at all stages of the medicine supply chain - from registration and manufacturing to distribution to patients. Problems identified included weaknesses in the pricing system, insufficient quality control of medicines, and delays in updating treatment protocols. Special attention was paid to issues of pharmacovigilance and the effectiveness of sectoral developments.
Deputy Prime Minister Yerzhan Kosherbayev emphasized that the systemic violations uncovered require immediate and decisive action:
We cannot allow inefficient use of budget funds, supply disruptions, or risks related to low-quality medications. All violations must be met not only with assessment but with concrete legal and administrative responses. Providing the population with reliable and affordable medicines is a top priority - there can be no delay," Kosherbayev stated.
Continuing the discussion, Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova presented a set of priority measures aimed at eliminating the identified violations. According to her, systemic reforms in the drug supply sector have been initiated in light of the SAC’s recommendations. The new policy package focuses on improving medicine accessibility, including:
- Reducing maximum prices for medicines
- Transitioning to an electronic procurement format
- Simplifying market entry for new drugs
- Introducing personalized patient records
- Creating hospital pharmacy departments
The minister elaborated on the pricing mechanism:
The new pricing regulation covers both medicines included in the free state programs (GOBMP and OSMS) and those sold through wholesale and retail networks. For the free list, which covers outpatient and inpatient treatments, price reductions of up to 19% are planned; for retail pharmacies, reductions of up to 30%," Akmaral Alnazarova said .
The revision of pricing policies aims to make medicines more affordable both within the state-subsidized system and on the broader pharmaceutical market.
Also highlighted was the implementation of a digital medicine labeling system. To date, over 366 million packages have been labeled, and more than 80 million withdrawn from circulation. This system covers all key pharmaceutical market participants and enables full traceability of each package through the supply chain, offering strong protection against counterfeiting.
Among other initiatives is a pilot project launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry to expedite the registration of pharmaceuticals. A new regulation allows for the reduction of registration time to 100 days while fully meeting expertise, pricing, and national formulary requirements.
In closing the meeting, Yerzhan Kosherbayev emphasized the importance of unified efforts by all state agencies in implementing the President’s instructions. He stressed that ensuring drug security and access to medicines is one of the key priorities of national healthcare policy:
Only a systematic and responsible approach at every level will help restore public trust, increase the efficiency of government spending, and ensure the resilience of the entire healthcare system," the Deputy Prime Minister concluded.
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