World Monitor Mag, Industrial Overview WM_November_2018_WEB_Version | Page 37
EXPERT OPINION
history of use. There are also drugs that
can be attributed to the highest level of
the pharmaceutical hierarchy – biotech
drugs. For example, SANTO supplies the
market with the biotech drug Epoetin
Zeta. The drug is a biosimilar of the
original drug Epoetin Alfa. It is used in
patients with chronic kidney disease
receiving hemodialysis in both adults and
children, as well as in patients who are
in the predialysis stage, in oncological
patients who receive chemotherapy
and in hematologic diseases. Epoetin
Zeta makes the treatment of serious
diseases much more effective and more
accessible for more patients.
SANTO works within a broad therapeutic
sector, from ambulatory and inpatient
diseases to the most serious and costly
in terms of health care costs. One of
our main strategic objectives is to make
drug supply affordable.
Going back to what we talked
about today, do you think there is
a potential in the development of
Kazakhstan to be the centre of the
pharmaceutical industry in Central
Asia?
We can definitely assume that the
company SANTO will be the leader, if we
talk about the neighboring states, about
the growing turnover, the contribution of
R&D. From the point of view of the national
economy, we are distinguished from other
pharmaceutical companies by an advantage
– we are exporters to Central Asia and
continue to increase this potential. That is,
SANTO is not a local, but a regional player.
For many years we have had a permanent
presence in Kyrgyzstan, actively developing
trade relations with Turkmenistan, while
we also work in the EAEU and the Russian
Federation, with whom we associate broad
perspectives. Thus, Central Asia and the
EEU are where we are present and actively
developing our exports.
We can confidently say that Kazakhstan is
becoming the centre of the development
of the pharmaceutical industry. I think
that Russia, as the largest market, is an
indicator of development. Today we have
a portfolio of registered drugs in the
Russian Federation, which includes vital
drugs, and if we talk about penemous
antibiotics, then we are among the top
five companies in the EEU that produce
such products. We were also the first to
file a dossier on the registration procedure
of the EAEU. This means that we will
have registration certificates within the
Eurasian format, which will allow us to
receive mutual recognition and work
immediately within the entire Eurasian
Union. Our portfolio is diversified enough
to work both in Central Asia and in the
EEU. We are sure that the next step will
be to obtain a GMP certificate outside the
Eurasian Economic Union.
Kazakhstan can become a centre for
the development of the pharmaceutical
industry and we really need support from
within. It is important for us to understand
our role as a reliable partner and
investor, an associate of new economic
transformations in the republic.
What would you wish to our readers?
There is an excellent skill that is planted in
the western education system – a critical
analysis. I would like to wish our people to
try to think in light of the facts and less
in view of the emotional components.
Less myths and more facts and objective
information that helps you make the right
decisions!
supported by EUROBAK
35