Astana, 3 November. Prices fell for 799 of 3,073 medicines, or 26%, Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova said at a government meeting.
Another 494 products, she said, will be made in the country under eight investment projects.
The price data come from digital monitoring of the pharmaceutical market. Prices of more than half of the medicines on sale are stable; the ministry did not say how many rose. Price regulation has been cancelled for over-the-counter medicines and for prescription medicines costing less than one monthly calculation index. The labelling system tracks availability and prices, and people can check a medicine, its maker and the maximum retail price in the eGov Mobile and “Nakty onim” apps and report violations to the ministry. In its channel the government gave one more figure: more than 84% of the medicines needed for 2027 have been bought.
The eight projects cost 391.3 billion tenge and will create more than 1,200 jobs. Production will be launched in stages: 300 products are planned for 2027–2030 and another 194 for 2031–2034. The pharmaceutical market reached 1.285 trillion tenge in 2025 and grew by 31% in two years; domestic output grew by 37%. In eight months of 2026 output reached 157 billion tenge, 30% more than a year earlier. In two years investment in the sector rose 3.3 times and exports 1.9 times; the main buyers of Kazakh medicines are Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Moldova. Kazakh producers account for 42% of packs sold and 79% of the Single Distributor’s purchases.
What it means: The price of every fourth item fell, most stayed where they were, and the growth in local production is spread over years: the bulk of the new products will appear no earlier than 2027, and part only in 2031–2034.
Who benefits: Buyers of medicines, if the fall touched the ones they need; Kazakh producers, whom the ministry promises long-term contracts and purchases; workers at the new plants, of whom more than 1,200 are promised. The statement does not list which medicines became cheaper.
Background: The Ministry of Health said it will keep widening long-term contracts with manufacturers and improving the ways it buys domestic products.
