In Kazakhstan, a revision of state price regulation rules for medicines has led to cheaper pharmacy stock: maximum prices were reduced for 3,801 medicines, or 76% of the total list, by an average of 26.5% in 2025, with prices also falling in 2026, according to infohub.kz.
According to the Ministry of Health, 947 medicines remained unchanged in price, while the list was expanded with 246 new items.
As for the current year, since the start of 2026, new prices have been approved for 2,055 medicines for wholesale and retail sale. Over this period, prices fell by 16%.
The price cuts also affected medicines provided under the guaranteed volume of free medical care (GOBMP) and compulsory social health insurance (OSMS). Here, price reductions were recorded for 1,397 trade names, or 47.8%.
Maximum prices for international nonproprietary names of medicines under GOBMP and OSMS were also revised. Reductions were recorded for 453 items.
According to Bauyrzhan Dzhusipov, head of the Pharmacy Committee, these results stem from a revision of approaches to setting maximum prices.
"Today, the price declared by the manufacturer is confirmed by documents and compared with prices in reference countries. The average of the three lowest prices is used, and the data is further confirmed by information from international sources. This approach allows for a more objective assessment of the declared cost of medicines and the setting of maximum prices," Dzhusipov noted.
Currently, Kazakhstan's reference basket includes Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that prices in Kazakh pharmacies fell for 589 pharmaceuticals. The most noticeable decline was in the cost of antibiotics, as well as medicines for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases.