In Kazakhstan, prices fell for 26.2% of medicines after some drugs were removed from state price regulation, the Agency for Protection and Development of Competition said, according to infohub.kz.
The agency said 302 over-the-counter medicines were removed from regulation in 2023 and 952 in 2024. In 2025, the deregulation of 1,868 items was completed in full.
"Since May 2026, an additional 3,050 prescription medicines priced below 1 MCI have been deregulated. In 2027, we plan to complete price deregulation in the commercial segment. State price regulation will remain only for medicines under the guaranteed volume of free medical care and the mandatory social health insurance system," the Agency for Protection and Development of Competition said.
After some medicines were removed from state price regulation, the agency monitored actual price trends using data from the labeling system. The Committee for Medical and Pharmaceutical Control compared the selling prices of 2,635 medicines as of August 8, 2025, and in July 2026.
Prices for 698 medicines fell by an average of 26.2%: by up to 20% for 456 items and by more than 20% for 242. Prices for 1,142 items remained unchanged.
Prices rose for 795 medicines, by an average of 29.9%, including by up to 20% for 646 items and by more than 20% for 149.
"Overall, the monitoring results indicate that there was no significant price growth after deregulation and confirm that prices can be set independently in a competitive environment. At the same time, price trends vary by region. Improving the pricing mechanism was accompanied by a reduction in administrative barriers and the digitalization of procedures for admitting medicines and medical devices to the market," the agency said.