New Initiatives for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry in the Republic of Uzbekistan

On January 28, 2025, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (“Uzbekistan”) signed the Decree “On Additional Measures for the Accelerated Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry” No. UP-13 (the “Decree No. 13”), which came into force on January 29, 2025.

Below is an overview of the key regulatory changes in the pharmaceutical industry introduced by the Decree No. 13. The most significant amendments include the abolition of price markup limitations on over-the-counter medicines and the imposition of a 2% customs duty on certain categories of medicines, effective April 1, 2025.

The Law "On Telecommunications" has been adopted in a new edition

On December 27, 2024, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, signed the Law "On Telecommunications" No. LRU-1015 (the "Telecommunication Law"), which came into force on December 28, 2024. With the adoption of the new edition of the Telecommunication Law, the previous version, dated August 20, 1999, was repealed.

On December 27, 2024, in pursuance of the Roadmap for the Elimination of Corruption Risks identified in the operation of SK-Pharmacy LLP and the Action Plan approved based on the results of the audit by the Supreme Audit Chamber, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan issued the Order No. 112 (the "Order No. 112"), which introduced amendments and additions to the Order No. 110 dated June 7, 2023 (the "Order No. 110") "On the Approval of the Rules for the Organization and Implementation of the Procurement of Medicines, Medical Devices, and Specialized Therapeutic Products within the Framework of the Guaranteed Volume of Free Medical Care, Additional Volume of Medical Assistance for Persons Held in Pre-Trial Detention Centers and Facilities of the Penal (Penitentiary) System, at the Expense of Budgetary Funds and/or within the Compulsory Social Medical Insurance System, as well as Pharmaceutical Services" (the "Rules").

New Initiatives for the Advancement of E-Commerce in Uzbekistan

On December 26, 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan (“Uzbekistan”) adopted Resolution No. 885 "On Measures for the Further Development with the sphere
E-Commerce in the Republic of Uzbekistan" (the "Regulation No. 885"). Below is an overview of the key regulatory innovations in e-commerce introduced by the Regulation No. 885.

Kazakhstan – December 2024

By the Order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan (“RK”) dated December 25, 2024 No. 110 (the “Order No. 110”) amendments have been made to the Rules for Regulation, Formation of Maximum Prices and Markups for Medicines as well as Medical Devices (“MD”) within the Framework of the Guaranteed Volume of Free Medical Care (“GVFMC”) and/or in the Obligatory Social Medical Insurance System (“OSMI”) approved by the Order of the Minister of Health of the RK dated December 11, 2020 No. ҚР ДСМ-247/2020 (the “Rules”).

New Measures for Improving the Supply of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment to State Medical Facilities in Uzbekistan

On November 29, 2024, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan issued Resolution  
No. PR-408 “On Measures to Improve the Supply of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment System for Medical Facilities” (“Resolution  No. 408”).

Regulation on conducting post-marketing surveillance of pharmaceutical products has been approved.

On October 4, 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan adopted Resolution No. 628, titled "On the approval of the Regulation on the Procedure for Conducting Post-marketing Surveillance of Pharmaceutical Products" (the "Regulation No. 628"), which came into effect on October 5, 2024.

According to Regulation No. 628, post-marketing surveillance is conducted by the Pharmaceutical Product Safety Center under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan (the “Center”) without interfering in the financial and economic activities of business entities."

Uzbekistan – September 2024

Amendments to antimonopoly legislative acts

On September 4, 2024, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the Law (version in Russian is available here) No. ZRU-954 “On amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan in connection with further improvement of the activities of the Committee for Development of Competition and Protection of Consumer Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan” (hereinafter – the “Law 954”).

Kazakhstan – July 2024

The main change concerns the list of goods subject to digital labelling, which was approved by the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (“Kazakhstan”) dated June 28, 2024, No. 516 (“Resolution”).

According to this Resolution, the requirement for mandatory labeling of medicines from July 1, 2024, applies to all medicines manufactured after July 1, 2024. Thus, medicines produced before the specified date can be imported and circulate without labelling.

Improvement of antimonopoly regulation in the commodity and financial markets.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan adopted the Resolution on Approval of Normative Legal Acts on Antimonopoly Regulation in the Commodity and Financial Markets No. 256 on May 1, 2024 (the "Resolution 256").

The Resolution will enter into force on August 3, 2024. Please see an overview of the notable novelties introduced by the Resolution 256.