GLOBAL PHARM FORUM: THE FUTURE OF KAZAKHSTAN’S PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY AT ASTANA ZDOROVIE 2021

Two months are left before the 17^th Kazakhstan International Healthcare Exhibition - Astana Zdorovie 2021 which is held in Nur-Sultan. In addition to showcasing the latest medical and laboratory equipment, consumables, pharmaceuticals, medical products, and medical services, a rich Business Programme awaits exhibitors and visitors during the exhibition from October 27 to 29.

The Programme for the first day of the exhibition will be dedicated to a discussion of the situation and prospects for the development of the medical equipment market in accordance with the challenges that the industry poses to manufacturers today. The Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan and SK-Pharmacia LLP will host the MedTech International Forum. The participants will discuss the current state of the system for providing medical equipment to healthcare organizations in Kazakhstan, issues related to registration and expertise, innovative trends and opportunities for a contract-based production in Kazakhstan.

A special place in the Business Programme schedule is dedicated to the issues of prevention, treatment and diagnostics of coronavirus infection. Conference “Laboratory Diagnostics of Coronavirus Infection” organized by Federation of Laboratory Medicine will take place on October 27. Main topics of the conference will be epidemiological safety and laboratory personnel protection under COVID-19. Kazakhstani and foreign representatives of health authorities, NGOs, clinical scientists, specialists and researchers in laboratory service are invited to participate in the conference. 

On October 28, the Conference will continue in the format of a workshop “Lessons Learned from the Coronavirus Pandemic” with the participation of specialists from Russia. Both events will help to review achievements, challenges and possible solutions to address the threats posed by COVID-19 around the world. The speakers will describe the current global epidemiological situation, outline the lessons and challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and share innovative approaches and effective methods of diagnosing COVID-19 and the opportunities for comprehensive laboratory diagnostics in a pandemic environment.

On October 28, GLOBAL PHARM 1^st International Pharmaceutical Forum organized by the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan and SK-Pharmacia LLP will take place at the Exhibition. The period of self-isolation and quarantine was a challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. According to the Press Service of the Ministry of Health, as of the end of 2020, there were 96 companies in the pharmaceutical industry in Kazakhstan, including 33 in the production of pharmaceuticals, 22 in the manufacturing of medical devices and 41 in medical equipment, and 33 manufacturers of medicines. Since 2015, pharmaceutical production in Kazakhstan has shown only positive dynamics, and in 2020, the domestic pharmaceutical industry showed a record pace of development for the last five years. The output increased 1.5 times, to KZT 138 billion. The increased demand for medicines in the context of the pandemic has not only provided domestic enterprises with new contracts, but also influenced the growth of imported medicines. Of course, in this new reality, pharmaceutical industry professionals have a lot to talk about. The Forum will be held in the sessions and topic-related roundtables. The program includes speeches of representatives of ministries and associations, management of bigpharma companies, local pharmaceutical factories, as well as companies involved in associated industries, including logistics and storage, packaging and labeling, track and trace system.

The Forum will help to attract public and private investment in the development of national pharmaceutical production, increase the export potential of domestic pharmaceutical products, increase scientific and human resource capacity.

Astana Zdorovie 2021 will attract a wide professional audience not only from Kazakhstan, but also from near and far abroad countries, which will facilitate the effective exchange of experiences and practical cases for the application of innovations and opportunities in the medical industry in the pandemic.

The exhibition is organised by Iteca.

Astana Zdorovie exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan City Administration, Trade Representative Office of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Kazakhstan, SK-Pharmacia LLP, Association of Pharmaceutical and Medical Products Manufacturers of Kazakhstan PharmMed Industry of Kazakhstan, Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers.