On April 23, 2025, VERBA LEGAL held a business breakfast on “Uzbekistan Life Sciences Market - Current Challenges and the Outlook (Registration, Legal Aspects and Antitrust Regulation)”.
The event turned out to be an important platform for open discussion among business figures, governmental authorities and industry experts. Participants included the Association of Foreign Pharmaceutical Companies and Manufacturers in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the State Institution Pharmaceutical Product Safety Center under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Antitrust Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as key local market players.
A welcoming speech was given by Mukhabbat Askarova, Chairperson of the Board of Association of Foreign Pharmaceutical Companies and Manufacturers in the Republic of Uzbekistan, together with Mirzohid Kodirov, Head of Department for Pharmaceutical Sector Regulation and Medicine Demand Assessment. They emphasized the importance of maintaining constructive and transparent interaction between the pharmaceutical community and government agencies.
The next speaker, Durbek Aliev, Executive Director for Business Development at IQVIA Uzbekistan, gave an analytical review of the current situation in the pharmaceutical market of Uzbekistan. He noted that the market had been growing in monetary value whilst at the same there had been a slump in the sales in packages, stressing that Uzbekistan remained one of the key players on the Eurasian pharmaceutical landscape. The leaders in terms of growth include GEDEON RICHTER, KRKA, NIKA-PHARM, RADIKS NPP, SANOFI, STADA and other companies.
A panel discussion featuring representatives of the Ministry of Health, including the State Institution Pharmaceutical Product Safety Center, the Pharmacological Committee and pharmaceutical companies sparked particular interest, with some pressing issues being touched upon, in particular, the lack of transparency in calculating the cost of variational changes which often exceeds the cost of new registration. Participants also pointed at the inconveniences experienced when making foreign currency settlements with foreign companies.
Representatives of regulatory authorities confirmed that they comprehended the seriousness of the matters in questions and reported that they had been working on possible solutions, including by updating the price list and amending the existing regulations. They underlined that the current restrictions were related to the specifics of the legal status of state institutions and the regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health currently in force. The competent agencies are considering whether it would be feasible to introduce an additional paragraph into the Regulation on the Procedure for Operation of Representative Offices, similarly to what has been done with digital labelling.
Alexander Panov, Senior Partner of VERBA LEGAL, shared his experience in implementing regulatory models for localization of drug manufacturing in Russia. He described in detail such instruments as SPICs (special investment contracts), offset contracts and industrial subsidies. Each form was thoroughly scrutinized in terms of its advantages and potential applicability in Uzbekistan. This open exchange marked an important step towards further localization of manufacturing operations in Uzbekistan.
The business part of the event was wrapped up by representatives of the Competition Promotion and Consumer Protection Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Botir Sharipov, Deputy Head of the Consumer Protection Department, and Sherzod Makhamadaliev, Head of the Department for the Development of Advertising Market and Creative Industries, talked about significant progress being made in the digitalization of antitrust regulatory regime by using the FAIR TECH Information System which implementation, including its FAIR PRICE and PHARM INFO Modules, made it possible to identify and promptly suppress large-scale overpricing of medicines: in 2024 alone, 270 thousand violations were detected for a total of 11.6 billion sums, followed by another 2.1 billion sums in the first quarter of 2025, involving 173 pharmacies. In each case appropriate measures were taken, confirming the effectiveness of digital tools in ensuring market transparency and protecting consumer rights.
This business breakfast hosted by VERBA LEGAL has once again showed that such events provide an effective communication platform that brings together market players, regulators and the community of professionals. Willingness to engage in an open debate and joint analysis of crucial challenges will help develop solutions contributing to the sustainable development of the Uzbekistan’s pharmaceutical sector.
