Kazakhstan to Introduce Mandatory Digital Labeling of Medicines

On January 1, 2022, Kazakhstan will start implementing mandatory digital labeling of medicines. The implementation stages will be determined by the Kazakh Ministry of Health.

At the moment, a pilot project is taking place allowing pharmaceutical companies to test the labeling process before it becomes mandatory. Four Kazakh pharmaceutical manufacturers, one importer, two distributors, five pharmacies and eight medical institutions, as well as the state-run medicine distributor SK-Pharmacy LLP are taking part in the project. Almost 100,000 packages of medical products have been digitally labeled since September 2019, when the project was initiated.

The obligatory digital labeling system aims to ensure better quality control and transparent circulation of medicines throughout their life cycles. The system also intends to minimize the presence of counterfeit medicines in the market. Finally, importers and manufacturers will be able to monitor the supply chain and anticipate and prevent drug shortages.

Within the framework of this project, information about medicines is entered into the Information System for Labeling and Traceability of Goods, after which the system generates a Data Matrix code for each medicine containing digital information about the manufacturer and importer, the serial number of the batch of medicines and other information necessary to control the movement of the drug. The Data Matrix code cannot be forged due to cryptographic protection.

Digital labeling is also being implemented for other types of products in Kazakhstan, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and other consumer goods. The mandatory labeling of shoes will start on November 1, 2021, while the labeling of tobacco products was introduced on October 1, 2020.

Prepared by: Nurgul Mendigaliyeva and Aliya Madiyarova

For more information, please contact kazakhstan@petosevic.com.

Source: Kazakh Ministry of Health’s Committee for Medical and Pharmaceutical Control