Large Swiss pharmaceutical holding to open production of anticancer drugs in Kazakhstan
On November 29, 2021, as part of the visit of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Switzerland, a Framework Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Roche Holding AG. The agreement provided for the possibility of increasing the local production of medical drugs through the localization of production of innovative original drugs for the treatment of oncological diseases. If this project is implemented, patients will have access to innovative medicines and treatment methods. In particular, this will be relevant for the treatment of oncological diseases, such as breast cancer.
During this year, the parties agreed on approaches to further improve the legislation in terms of stimulating technology transfer, finding a local partner for further localization of production, etc.
As part of the visit of Roche Holding executives to Kazakhstan, an agreement was signed with the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the project, securing the obligations of the parties and ensuring the start of production, as well as the production of the first Kazakhstan package of drugs by the end of 2023.
In addition, the Swiss company plans to create and launch an «Innovative Training Center for Laboratory Diagnostics» at the Nazarbayev University School of Medicine in 2023. The training center will assist in improving the skills of local specialists in terms of innovative diagnostic methods.
According to the Managing Director of KAZAKH INVEST Azamat Kozhanov, a special subdivision of Task Force is aimed at attracting large TNCs to work in Kazakhstan.
«Currently, our team is leading two large projects by SVEVIND and Fortesque in the field of green hydrogen production. In addition, work is underway to agree on the conditions for several more projects under the Investment Agreement. The other day in France, during the visit of the Head of State, a document was signed with the French company Alstom. The general list consists of 70 projects with investments of more than $13 billion,» Azamat Kozhanov stressed.
«The pharmaceutical industry is strategically important for our country. In the context of the pandemic, we had to reconsider our approaches to the development of the pharmaceutical industry. Thus, the Government expects to increase the share of its own pharmaceutical production in the country to 50% by 2025. The arrival of the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, the so-called «Big Pharma», is a landmark event for the development of the industry as a whole. We are confident that the implementation of the project will give a new impetus and bring the pharmaceutical industry of Kazakhstan to a qualitatively new level. It is important to note that Kazakhstan is one of the few countries that have received the opportunity to develop contract manufacturing of medicines. The company plans to further expand the pharmaceutical production chain in the country,» said Almat Zhumabayev, project manager at Investment Task Force KAZAKH INVEST.
The implementation of this project, implemented with the full support of the Task Force division of «NC»KAZAKH INVEST«JSC, will help to detect oncological diseases in patients at an early stage and will greatly facilitate access to modern medicines for the treatment of these diseases.
Photo: invest.gov.kz