Pharmaceutical production in Kazakhstan has increased significantly. In January–May 2026, output of basic pharmaceutical products and preparations reached KZT 109.5 billion, up 38.3% from the same period last year, with the industrial production index (IPI) at 126.6%. By comparison, output stood at KZT 15.6 billion in January–May 2016, KZT 50.4 billion in 2020 and KZT 79.2 billion in 2025.

By region, pharmaceutical production remains concentrated in several key centers. Karaganda Region accounted for the largest output in January–May 2026, at KZT 40.2 billion, up 2.3-fold year on year. Shymkent ranked second with KZT 35.1 billion, although production in the city declined by 7%. It was followed by Almaty Region (KZT 15.9 billion) and Almaty city (KZT 11.2 billion), where output also fell, by 31.1% and 15.8%, respectively. Together, Karaganda Region, Shymkent, Almaty Region and Almaty city accounted for more than 93% of Kazakhstan’s total pharmaceutical output.

Medicines account for the bulk of pharmaceutical production. In January–May 2026, their output reached KZT 103.1 billion, up 47.7% year on year. By comparison, production of other pharmaceutical preparations fell by 25.6% to KZT 5.4 billion. The industry’s overall growth this year was therefore driven primarily by medicines.

The increase in output coincided with stronger government support for the sector. Kazakhstan has 209 registered domestic manufacturers of pharmaceutical and medical products. Of these, 43 produce medicines and 166 manufacture medical devices. At the beginning of 2026, 83 long-term contracts were in effect with 31 domestic manufacturers for the supply of more than 2 thousand types of medicines and medical devices. In addition, seven investment agreements worth a total of around KZT 360 billion have been signed since December 2025. Their implementation is expected to enable production of 474 new products and create more than 1.1 thousand jobs.

At the same time, the development of domestic production is not only about output volumes, but also about how quickly medicines can be brought to market. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare, in February 2026 Kazakhstan became the first CIS country to achieve Maturity Level 3 for its national regulatory system for medical products, as assessed by the WHO. The country is also implementing a pilot one-stop-shop project that has reduced registration procedures from 210 to 100 days. An accelerated registration procedure of up to 15 days has been introduced for medicines from countries with stringent regulatory standards.

Notably, despite growing production, prices for pharmaceutical products continued to rise. In May this year, they increased by 1.7% month on month. The largest monthly increases were recorded in North Kazakhstan Region (4.5%), Ulytau Region (3.3%) and Aktobe Region (2.8%). Pharmaceutical products also rose in price faster than the national average in East Kazakhstan and Turkistan Regions, by 2.7%.

A month earlier, in April, the nationwide increase in prices was even higher, at 2.2%. The sharpest increases were recorded in Akmola Region (6.5%), Kostanay Region (6.2%) and Zhambyl Region (4.6%). Meanwhile, prices declined in Shymkent, as well as in East Kazakhstan and Atyrau Regions.

Looking at monthly trends, the acceleration became evident in the second half of last year. At the beginning of 2025, monthly price growth remained within 0.5%–0.7%, but accelerated to 2% by September and 2.8% by October. Price growth also remained substantial in 2026: prices increased by 1.9% in January, 2.2% in April and 1.7% in May.

Year on year, pharmaceutical products rose in price by 19.3%. This was the highest May increase in recent years, with the exception of 2016, when prices in the sector surged by 39%. The largest increases were recorded in Akmola Region (28.6%), North Kazakhstan Region (27.1%), Zhetisu Region (25.8%), Zhambyl Region (25.1%) and West Kazakhstan Region (24.7%), while the smallest were seen in Pavlodar Region (7.4%), Mangystau Region (11.7%) and Ulytau Region (14.8%).

Price trends varied considerably across individual medicines. The sharpest year-on-year increases were recorded for acetylsalicylic acid (74.2%), activated charcoal (73.7%), paracetamol (51.6%), No-Spa (37.1%), Smecta (32.4%) and Corvalol (32.1%). Prices also rose significantly for Omez (24.7%), Hilak Forte (24%), Essentiale Forte N (22.1%), Magne B6 (21%) and Citramon P (20.2%). At the same time, some medicines became cheaper: Enap by 14.7%, indapamide by 9.1% and azithromycin by 6%.

These trends come amid changes to pharmaceutical price regulation. According to the government, prices for more than 5 thousand items covered by long-term contracts were recalculated, with new prices introduced in July last year. In 2025, procurement by the single distributor generated around KZT 75 billion in budget savings. Price deregulation is also continuing: it has already covered around 2.5 thousand over-the-counter medicines, while an agreement has been reached on a further 1.8 thousand prescription medicines priced at up to one monthly calculation index (MCI). According to an analysis by the Medical and Pharmaceutical Control Committee of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare, prices declined for 631 items in the first quarter of this year, by an average of 24.6%.

At the same time, growth in domestic production has yet to resolve Kazakhstan’s dependence on imports for certain types of pharmaceutical products. For provitamins, vitamins and their derivatives, domestic producers met just 1.7% of demand — domestic sales plus exports — in January–April 2026, compared with 1.1% in the same period last year. Domestic production increased by 85.7%, but reached only 2.6 tonnes, while imports rose by 19.6% to 152.9 tonnes. Exports increased 7.2-fold to 7.9 tonnes, while domestic sales grew by 15.2% to 147.5 tonnes.

The situation with antibiotics is more balanced, although imports also remain significant. Kazakhstan’s producers met 34.3% of demand this year, compared with 25.2% a year earlier. Output increased 2.3-fold to 10.7 tonnes in January–April 2026, while imports rose by 47.5% to 20.5 tonnes. Almost the entire volume of antibiotics was sold on the domestic market: sales reached 31.2 tonnes, up 72.1%. Exports fell from 465.3 kg to 6.3 kg.

Dependence on external supplies extends beyond finished products to raw materials. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare previously proposed exempting imported raw materials used in pharmaceutical production from VAT under the guaranteed volume of free medical care and mandatory social health insurance.

The problem of questionable sales channels persists. In 2025, 161 criminal cases were opened over violations involving the sale and storage of unregistered medicines and medical devices, compared with 51 cases a year earlier. More than 20 thousand packages of various medicines were seized from illegal circulation last year. There were also reports of antibiotics suspected of being counterfeit: the questionable batches were seized, and administrative proceedings were initiated over the identified violations.

For the pharmaceutical industry, the next stage will be more challenging than simply increasing output. The key question is whether localization can expand from individual products to a broader range of widely used medicines. Without this, pharmaceutical production will remain an important industrial indicator, but its impact on households’ everyday spending will be limited.