B. Sagintayev: There will be no shortage of medical products and drugs
Irina, a resident of the Medeu district, asked about medical supplies in the event of a second wave of the coronavirus, and whether the city is provided with the necessary medical products and drugs
The Akim of Almaty, Bakhytzhan Sagintayev, replied that last year, the first wave tested the strength of Kazakhstanis and the city administration took unprecedented measures.
“After the quarantine was lifted, everyone relaxed, and it knocked us down. Panic started and people bought everything there was in pharmacies. We quickly worked, created a Stabilization Fund for storage. They began to deliver medical supplies, medicines and ventilators from India and Belarus by airplanes. The head of state instructed that medicines and medical products should be passed without registration and translation of packages into the state language. In total, 48 million packages of drugs and protective equipment were delivered to the city. Around 24 million packages are in circulation today, and there is a minimum stock of 8 million units in stock. More than 300 pharmacies are monitored so that there is no shortage in the city. We will not allow this anymore, "the akim answered.
According to Sagintayev, it is necessary to develop domestic production. For this purpose, a pharmaceutical cluster has been created on the territory of the Free trade economic zone "PIT". The main emphasis will be placed on the localization of the production of medicines, medical devices and essential equipment, that are part of the guaranteed volume of medical care.
To date, representatives of the pharmaceutical cluster have begun the construction of pharmaceutical plants. LLP "VivaPharm" has started to implement a production complex for the production of liquid, soft and solid dosage forms. The volume of investments is 4.6 billion tenge. Also, LLP "DolcePharm" is building a plant for the production of personal protective equipment. The volume of investments is 19.5 billion tenge.
At the same time, three more investors have started the implementation of projects for the production of pharmaceuticals, such as: LLP "Alfa Met", LLP "Bio Eurasia", and LLP "ADS Industries". In particular, an industrial park of the pharmaceutical industry will be built for micro-small businesses. The total investment is 18 billion tenge.
The created mechanism, for the equipment of drugs and personal protective equipment, will make it possible to not depend on imports, and will reduce the likelihood of a shortage of drugs not only in the treatment of COVID-19, but other diseases as well.