The pharmaceutical market of Uzbekistan continues to grow rapidly and is becoming one of the leaders in Central Asia. At the same time, the healthcare system increasingly needs innovative solutions to successfully attract and develop new technologies for medicine.
But for this, it is necessary to build a reliable system of protection against counterfeit and smuggled drugs, the share of which in the market of Uzbekistan still remains high. It is necessary to create an interdepartmental working group to develop measures to combat the "gray" market of drugs. This was reported by representatives of the international biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca during the IV Eurasian Pharmaceutical Forum, which is taking place in Tashkent.
The development of the pharmaceutical market of Uzbekistan and the introduction of innovations in medicine are facilitated by several factors at once, including the emergence of national programs for the detection of diseases, the unmet need for the development of diagnostics in the field of oncology, hematology, cardiovascular diseases and other diseases, the modernization of the drug supply system according to international standards, and the gradual introduction of compulsory medical insurance. This creates favorable conditions for attracting investment, innovation and the development of partnerships.
Fyodor Novikov, Head of Frontier Markets at AstraZeneca, Russia and Eurasia, said: “AstraZeneca is very interested in Uzbekistan. In addition to marketing drugs, the company is focused on implementing long-term projects in the field of oncology and chronic non-communicable diseases. We are ready to participate in the creation of an entire ecosystem, including diagnostics, routing and training of doctors. As a result, this will allow us to identify more patients at an early stage and provide them with effective treatment with original drugs.”
However, the pharmaceutical market remains insufficiently regulated. Imperfect legislation allows unscrupulous participants to produce and sell counterfeit goods and smuggle contraband drugs into the country without serious sanctions. In such conditions, the development of projects to expand access to diagnostics leads to a paradox, when an increase in the number of identified patients only spurs even greater growth in the gray and black drug markets.
Alexey Teteryuk, Manager for Government Relations and Market Access for Drugs at AstraZeneca, Russia and Eurasia, emphasized: “First of all, we are talking about a serious threat to human health from taking drugs that were imported into the country in an unknown way, bypassing official channels. In addition, a large volume of contraband and counterfeit products on the market reduces investment attractiveness for manufacturers and innovative companies. It becomes economically unprofitable for them to introduce new drugs to the market and support comprehensive projects to increase diagnostics, train doctors, and more. The presence of drugs imported without the consent of the copyright holder also deprives manufacturers of the incentive to make more serious investments.”
According to him, to solve the problem, it is necessary to regulate the legislation, tighten control over the circulation of drugs, and focus on identifying violators. In particular, it is important to legally define the concept of “parallel import”, whether it is completely prohibited or legalized in a certain form. It is also necessary to conduct post-marketing control of pharmacies and research with the participation of "secret shoppers" to identify cases of smuggling, as well as to strengthen administrative and criminal sanctions for illegal trade.
It is extremely important to promptly respond to the facts of systematic introduction of drugs into civil circulation without supporting documents. Strengthening the interaction of government agencies with the industry to develop amendments to the legislation is also an important measure. In this regard, the company representative proposed creating an interdepartmental working group to develop measures to improve the situation with the "gray" market for drugs.
The IV International Pharmaceutical Forum of Uzbekistan is being held in Tashkent from June 3 to 4. Every year, the event will bring together top managers of the largest manufacturers and distributors, representatives of government and regulatory bodies, technology suppliers, legal experts and industry consultants, creating a unique environment for strategic discussions, networking and business development.
