In Kazakhstan, from 1 July, plans are in place to introduce mandatory labelling and traceability for medicines. According to experts, this will help resolve the issue of counterfeit products on the domestic market.
According to the Telegram channel "Nehabar", in 2023 the department of the Committee for Medical and Pharmaceutical Control (CMPC) of the Ministry of Health drew up 894 administrative protocols and imposed fines totalling 185 million tenge for violations of legislation in the sphere of circulation of medicines and medical devices.
It also reports that, according to research by the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in ten packets of medicine in developing countries is counterfeit.
At the same time, Deputy Chair of the CMPC Almagul Kenzhekhanova stated that the introduction of labelling would have only a minor impact on the final cost of medicines.
"The price of medicines depends on the cost of packaging materials, the price of the active pharmaceutical ingredient, transport services and printing services, among other things. One must also not exclude currency volatility, annual inflation, and other external factors, which undoubtedly affect the cost of medicines. But it is important to understand here that the Ministry of Health approves maximum prices for medicines for wholesale and retail sale twice a year, which, in turn, helps keep the cost of drugs at an optimal level on the market and prevents unjustified price increases", Kenzhekhanova noted.
It has become known that unique digital codes, known as "data matrix" codes, are planned to be applied to each packet of medicine.
"The code contains information about the manufacturers and also reflects the entire journey the drug takes before reaching the market. Thus, Kazakh citizens will be able to verify that the medicine they are purchasing is not a counterfeit. Furthermore, the introduction of labelling and traceability will allow for control over the sale of drugs purchased with budget funds and those supplied to medical organisations", the statement reads.
It is reported that in businesses and medical organisations, labelling will make it possible to see statistics on drug consumption, which, in turn, will help prevent shortages of medicines.
Recall that it was previously reported that the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan received a proposal to implement a drug monitoring programme from the company Medical Value Chain (MVC). However, Kazakhtelecom lobbied for its own product labelling information system, which, according to experts, is significantly inferior to the foreign alternative.
The FBRK editorial team even conducted an analysis of both information systems to determine which of the monitoring programmes presented is more effective.