Cancer Patients in Kazakhstan Face Months-Long Shortages of Vital Drugs

Patients with oncological diseases in Kazakhstan are experiencing critical shortages of essential medications, with some drugs unavailable for months. The situation has been reported by residents across the country, including those in the Aktobe region.

"When will there be order in oncology? My grandmother is undergoing treatment and for the second month we cannot get the drug 'Capecitabine'. It's not available. Patients say other drugs are also missing. People have cancer, they need to take their medication on time," one concerned relative stated.

The sole distributor for state-funded medicines, SK-Pharmacy, has acknowledged the supply issues. The company stated that it purchases drugs based on requests from medical organizations and adjusts shipments according to the real needs of regions. Centralized deliveries are typically completed by the second week of each month.

SK-Pharmacy attributed the "difficulties" to a lack of suppliers or problems with foreign manufacturers. The distributor claims it is working with the Ministry of Health to resolve these issues, including through one-time imports of unregistered medications as a temporary measure.

The company announced that starting next week, its distribution hubs will begin receiving shipments of several drugs, including "Pipecuronium Bromide," "Perampanel," "Insulin Aspart," "Abemaciclib," and "Sodium Valproate."

Regarding specific oncology medications that have been the subject of numerous complaints—"Anastrozole," "Enzalutamide," and "Lapatinib"—SK-Pharmacy reported that these have already been delivered to its hubs and are being shipped to medical facilities.

Additional drugs such as "Zapikar," "Tobramycin," "Treksoma," "Tetracosactide," and "Isotroy" are expected to arrive at distribution hubs next week. Following standard regulatory procedures, they will then be sent to healthcare providers for patient use.

The distributor's statement also addressed complaints from cancer patients about the absence of the drug "Androcur."