The issue of introducing mandatory labeling of medicines was considered at public hearings

The Committee of Medical and Pharmaceutical Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan held public hearings on the analysis of regulatory impact on the introduction of mandatory labeling and traceability of medicines.
As the chairman of the Committee Bauyrzhan Baiserkin noted, the assignment of a digital code to each package of medicines is aimed at reducing the shadow turnover of medicines in the country, increasing the availability of high-quality and safe drugs for the population.
The pilot project on the introduction of labeling and traceability of medicines, which ended in Kazakhstan on July 31, was attended by 23 participants of the pharmaceutical industry, among them manufacturers, distributors, medical and pharmacy organizations. 18 trade names of drugs were marked with the Data Matrix code and went all the way from the manufacturer or importer to the sale, including Trastuzumab, Ketotifen, Natalcide, Etherenz and others.
"During the pilot, all the main business processes of drug labeling were studied. All participants of the pilot project were registered in the labeling system, as well as in the National Catalog of Goods, were trained in the mechanisms and functionality of the project. Based on business proposals, decisions were made in the pilot to improve drug labeling processes," Deputy Chairman of the Committee Saule Yerzhanova announced during the hearing.
According to her, the main problematic issues of the pharmaceutical industry of the republic are illegal drug trafficking, lack of control over their traceability in retail, monitoring of the movement of medicines, especially those purchased at the expense of budgetary funds. Digital labeling can be an effective solution.
It is planned to implement the project in our country in several stages: from July 2022 to July 2023.
The participants of the discussion, in turn, voiced their proposals on the project of digital labeling of medicines. Issues related to the integration of entrepreneurs' systems with the labeling system, measures of state support were discussed in detail.
During the discussion of the results of the regulatory impact analysis, the developer took into account all suggestions and comments.
In addition, representatives of the pharmaceutical business community had several interesting proposals, for example, it was proposed to provide free access to participants in the circulation of medicines to track the movement of their medicines in real time, as well as to consider the possibility of importing unmarked medicines after the introduction of mandatory labeling, if necessary by decision of the authorized body, by making a collegial decision or by any other mechanism provided by law, etc.
At the end of the public discussion, the management of the Committee thanked everyone for their active participation and took into account all the suggestions and comments made.