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The royalty tax will be reduced fourfold. Uzbekistan wants to attract global pharmaceutical brands

Uzbekistan intends to stimulate the localization of the production of imported drugs, expand the Tashkent Pharma Park cluster and compensate part of the costs of international certification. About this at the meeting on March 5reportedPresident Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Half of the imports come from three companies

According to data announced at the meeting, half of the imported drugs come from 34 foreign manufacturers. At the same time, three large companies provide about half of the imports, having exclusive rights to supply products from more than 40 foreign pharmaceutical companies.

The President called on such enterprises to take on social responsibility and become an example for others - to establish the production of branded medicines in Uzbekistan together with their foreign partners.

To encourage localization, the tax on royalties (payments to foreign companies for using a brand) will be reduced from 20% to 5%.

As an example, the project of the Turkish company World Medicine is noted, which is implementing a $30 million project in the pharmaceutical cluster of Tashkent Pharma Park for the production of antibiotics, antiviral and cardiovascular drugs.

Support for local drug production

20-30 years after the creation of the original drug, other companies may begin producing its analogues. The winner is the manufacturer who masters the production technology faster, it was said at the meeting.

When localizing such in-demand drugs, their price on the domestic market can be up to five times lower.

Therefore, for enterprises that will begin producing such drugs in Uzbekistan within a year, half of the costs for technology transfer will be compensated from the Pharmaceutical Industry Fund, said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

It is also planned to expand the territory of the Tashkent Pharma Park cluster by another 100 hectares for entrepreneurs who intend to establish the production of the 100 most imported drugs.

South Korean partners previously proposed to take control of 60 hectares attached to the pharmaceutical park, invest $40 million in infrastructure and attract leading South Korean companies to the site.

Responsible persons were instructed to complete negotiations and formulate projects in the field of biopharmaceuticals and cosmetic products worth at least $400 million.

Certification and government procurement

Exports in the pharmaceutical industry reached $220 million, but only 7% of this volume comes directly from medicines.

All 58 pharmaceutical companies producing drugs in the country have received the national GMP certificate. To enter higher-value markets, it is now necessary to bring production into compliance with EuroGMP requirements.

From June 1, 50% of the costs of obtaining a EuroGMP certificate for local producers will be reimbursed from the Trade Facilitation Fund.

The problems of participation of pharmaceutical enterprises in government procurement were also discussed at the meeting.

51 enterprises received local product certificates for 2,000 types of medicines and medical devices. However, due to the fact that the localization level does not reach 30%, 16 manufacturers cannot supply 178 types of domestic products to government organizations.

It was noted that a similar problem was raised by 811 enterprises from different industries - electrical engineering, food industry, textiles and others.

In this regard, until September 1, entrepreneurs with a certificate of local products will be allowed to participate in government procurement, regardless of the level of localization.

Responsible departments have been instructed to completely review the criteria for determining local products based on international best practices.

In addition, the president at the meetingcriticizedkhokims for idle farm zones and lack of projects. From April 1, drug manufacturers in Uzbekistan will be exempt from land tax, regardless of their location. For three years after the launch of the pharmaceutical project, no income tax or property tax will be collected.



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