In Kazakhstan, the range of affordable medicines is shrinking. According to the Association for Support and Development of Pharmaceutical Activities, a quarter of all drugs registered in the country have disappeared from pharmacy shelves in two years, and the share of cheap medicines has fallen by a third. The Ministry of Health is preparing measures to halt this process.
According to Zakon.kz, the President of the Association, Marina Durmanova, presented an analysis of the situation at a forum on medical tourism.
In her words, the number of drugs actually available in pharmacies has declined by 25.5% — from 7,932 in 2023 to 5,907 at present. The decline in cheap medications is particularly noticeable.
"The number of drug names priced at up to 1,000 tenge has decreased by 34.5%. This means that some cheap medicines have simply disappeared from the market, replaced by more expensive generics. Moreover, more than 300 drugs priced at up to 1,500 tenge had stable demand. So, they disappeared not because they were not in demand among our patients, but for other reasons," she said.
Durmanova noted that the trend continues this year — drugs costing up to 1,000 tenge continue to leave the market, making way for expensive alternatives.
To retain the cheap segment, the Ministry of Health plans to deregulate prices on medicines costing less than 1 MCI (3,932 tenge) from 10 January 2026.
"This step is aimed at preserving the range of cheap but socially significant drugs," the expert explained.