Ministry of Health Says Price Fixing and SK-Pharmacy's Millions in Losses “Rough Spots”
Photo: Orda.kz
The Ministry of Health commented on Antikor's information about a cartel agreement in purchasing medicines by SK-Pharmacy, numerous corruption risks, and expired medication in the organization’s warehouses, Orda.kz reports.
Vice Minister of Healthcare Yerzhan Nurlybayev stated at a government press conference that SK-Pharmacy is handling its task of ensuring the supply of medicines. He says it helps “save money by increasing the volume of wholesale purchases.”
The fact that in the course of work the shortcomings and issues you are talking about are revealed. Yes, these rough spots do exist. And thanks in part to our colleagues who make these comments, we have the opportunity to improve the work of the unified distributor, said Yerzhan Nurlybayev.
Considering the identified violations, he said three regulatory legal acts would soon change SK-Pharmacy's operating regulations.
In particular, they will prevent the possibility of the emergence of so-called cartel agreements, he added.
SK-Pharmacy managing Director Gulnara Omarova noted that the cartel agreement mainly concerns logistics.
On this issue, state bodies have made their decision, legal proceedings are ongoing today and have not yet been completed, said Gulnara Omarova.
During a joint audit with the Ministry of Health, the Anti-Corruption Service identified serious corruption risks in SK-Pharmacy LLP.
These risks prevent timely and high-quality provision of medicines and medical products to Kazakhstanis.
Antikor also found signs of a cartel agreement regularly arising during medicines' procurement. This is indicated by intermediary suppliers' refusal to participate in the first stage of auctions, their participation in them in pairs, and the "victory exchanges," i.e., when companies win an auction in turn.
Several times, it was confirmed that SK-Pharmacy purchased domestic products. The manufacturers were only engaged in packaging the goods.
Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova
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