Kochanova: pharmaceutical branch identified as a breakthrough point for Belarus’ industry growth
During the ongoing five-year plan, the pharmaceutical branch should become one of the breakthrough points of growth for the Belarusian industry – as stated by the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic, Natalya Kochanova, at a visiting meeting of the Expert Advisory Council under the Presidium of the Council of the Republic focusing on the current problems of Belarus’ pharmaceutical industry development
“The pharmaceutical industry as a whole is developing quite efficiently and successfully around the globe, and it is making a significant contribution to the development of each country,” Ms. Kochanova said. “According to experts, the global pharmaceutical market volumes have already exceeded $1 trillion, with an annual increase of about 8 percent. During the current five-year plan, the pharmaceutical industry has been identified as a breakthrough point of Belarus’ industrial growth. Forty pharmaceutical enterprises are involved in medical production in the country, and 11,000 people are employed. Manufacturing volumes are growing every year, and production of new drugs is launched.”
At the same time, Ms. Kochanova added that the 2020 pandemic and sanctions pressure had produced an impact on the pharmaceutical industry development – resulting in a decrease in the supply of Belarusian medicines to foreign markets.
“Enterprises had to reorient their products to the domestic market and also to look for new foreign markets. Actually, this topic is absolutely not new to us. The President of Belarus spoke long before about the need to develop our own pharmaceutical market and produce new pharmaceuticals and medicines. A task was set then: more than 50 percent of medicines should be produced domestically. This ensures drug safety. We must do everything so that our people do not feel these sanctions,” she explained.
Speaking of the pharmaceutical industry development, the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic highlighted a number of issues of concern, “We just need to know where to buy raw materials that we used to purchase in traditional markets: Ukraine and Western countries. Our manufacturers are engaged into this today. I visited pharmaceutical industry enterprises not so long ago. We need to be proactive. We should monitor the entire market of medicines and produce what we need today. In addition, we have repeatedly talked about the conditions for registration of our medicines. This process is sometimes delayed and goes on for an unreasonably long time. Of course, this concerns people's health, and there should be no hurry. Everything must be checked and tested. However, at the same time, life is dictating new conditions for us, and we must react quicker.”
The meeting with Ms. Kochanova’s participation gathered heads of pharmaceutical industry enterprises, the Healthcare Minister and scientists. “It largely depends on their work, which medicines will go into the pharmacy network of our country tomorrow and which will be exported,” she stressed. “The price factor plays a decisive role. For example, the imported drugs for COVID treatment are very expensive, so we need to develop our own Belarusian analogues. It is necessary to take into account the post-COVID symptoms and produce appropriate drugs.”
