Cancer Patients in Kazakhstan Face Critical Drug Shortages for Months

Residents of the Aktobe region, among others, are reporting a severe shortage of vital medications, with some drugs unavailable for over two months.

A concerned citizen shared a distressing account regarding her grandmother's treatment. "When will there be order in oncology? My grandmother is undergoing treatment, and for the second month now we cannot get the drug 'Capecitabine'. It is not available. Patients say other drugs are also missing. People have cancer; they need to take their medication on time," she stated.

The position of the state distributor, SK-Pharmacy, is that they procure medicines based on requests from medical organizations, adjusting shipments according to the real needs of the regions. Centralized supplies are typically completed by the second decade of each month. However, the company acknowledged "difficulties" arising from a lack of suppliers or problems with foreign manufacturers. They claim these issues are being resolved jointly with the Ministry of Health, including through one-time imports of unregistered drugs.

According to SK-Pharmacy, starting next week, its distribution hubs will begin receiving shipments of drugs such as "Pipecuronium Bromide," "Perampanel," "Insulin Aspart," "Abemaciclib," and "Sodium Valproate."

Regarding oncological medications that have been the subject of numerous complaints—specifically "Anastrozole," "Enzalutamide," and "Lapatinib"—the distributor reports that these have already been delivered to its hubs and are being shipped to medical facilities. Drugs including "Zapikar," "Tobramycin," "Treksoma," "Tetracosactide," and "Isotroy" are expected at the hubs next week and will be sent to healthcare providers after completing standard procedures.

Separate complaints have also been raised by cancer patients about the absence of the drug "Androcur."