The pharmaceutical cluster combines management, science, education, and production

On December 18, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the Innovative Scientific and Production Pharmaceutical Cluster “Tashkent Pharma Park”.

This complex was founded in accordance with the resolution of the Head of state of January 28, 2020, and on April 17 of the same year, the foundation stone was laid.

In the first stage, a technology park is being built on an area of ​​about 20 hectares, including an administrative center, a research and development (R&D) center, a laboratory for the control of the safety of pharmaceutical products, a clinical research center, the Pharmaceutical Technical University, and a vivarium.

To date, the construction of the administrative center has been completed. The 11-story building houses the Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency, a conference hall, a coworking center, a business incubator, a museum of the industry’s history, and a library.

The President got acquainted with the agency and the construction progress of the remaining buildings.

The main goals of the cluster are to develop the country’s pharmaceutical industry through the introduction of high technologies, integration into the international innovation system, producing high-quality medicines, medical products, and equipment, and training qualified specialists. To implement these large-scale tasks, a land plot of 190 hectares has been allocated in Zangiota district of Tashkent region.

The industrial zone hosts 21 projects worth $818 million. The first to start operating was the distribution center Grand Pharm Logistics Hub worth $40 million, which created 300 jobs. The enterprises are being created jointly with companies from Türkiye, India, China, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia.

The President spoke with the initiators of the projects. It was emphasized that the attraction and support of investments will be consistently continued.

In the future, 20 projects worth $620 million will be implemented in the industrial zone.

The cluster will generally produce high-quality medicines, medical products, and localized products while creating 8 thousand jobs. The Center of Good Practices (GxP) will ensure the quality and compliance of products at all stages, from production to delivery to the consumer.

The Head of state was also informed about the Pharmaceutical Technical University, which will become part of the cluster.

The university will have a pharmacopoeial center, a library, a sports complex, and housing for teachers and foreign specialists. It will train highly qualified specialists in industrial pharmacy, biomedicine, biochemistry, biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, and pharmaceutical chemistry. For this purpose, training will be organized based on international programs, and laboratories of microbiology, biotechnology, cell biology, pharmacology, and analytical chemistry will be created.

The university has already accepted its first students this academic year. The President talked to them.

“We attract investors from developed countries. How do they rate Uzbekistan? Through communication with you. The main wealth of our country is youth! It is better to use advanced programs in pharmaceuticals and train our specialists than to pay foreign specialists and depend on them. That is why we are creating a new university and introducing dual education. Here you will be able to obtain not only theoretical knowledge, but also consolidate it in practice”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized.

University graduates will be awarded international diplomas from the universities of Yonsei (South Korea), Sunderland, and De Montfort (United Kingdom). In addition, scientific cooperation has been established with Dundee, Busan, and Purdue universities.