Kazakhstan to produce new medicines to boost local manufacturing
The Kazakh Government approved agreements to produce over 400 new medicines in the next two-four years, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Kazakh Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova said at a preliminary meeting of the Foreign Investors’ Council that work has been done together with investors to improve investment attraction mechanisms taking into account long-term population forecasts and the country’s medicine needs for 10-15 years. As a result, a new tool - investment agreements providing for tax and customs incentives, infrastructural support, and long-term sales guarantees – was introduced.
To date, six investment projects worth 316 billion tenge ($620mln) have been approved at government meetings.
Over 400 new medicines will be produced in the next 2-4 years in Kazakhstan, said Alnazarova.
The country posted growth in the volume of investments in the pharmaceutical sector, rising from 47 million to 87 million US dollars in the past two years. New projects are expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs.
The efforts are part of the Strategy for the development of the pharmaceutical and medical industry until 2030, which also includes a comprehensive personnel training system for the pharmaceutical sector, including state support, with a focus on dual education.
Additionally, import and sale of medicines and medical services within the Guaranteed Volume of Free Medical Care and Mandatory Social Health Insurance were exempted from paying VAT starting on January 1. The country prepared amendments to strengthen control and responsibility for the production and distribution of counterfeit medicines.
Earlier, Qazinform reported NVIDIA and Eli Lilly have announced a joint AI co-innovation lab aimed at reinventing how new medicines are discovered.
