Kazakhstan Registers Promomed's Tirzetta as First Officially Available Tirzepatide Drug in the Country
核心洞察
Kazakhstan's Health Ministry granted Promomed (搜索) a registration certificate for Tirzetta (搜索) (tirzepatide), making it the country's first officially available drug with that active substance.
Tirzepatide activates both GLP-1 and GIP receptors, a dual incretin mechanism the company says drives weight loss mainly through increased adipose tissue metabolism.
WHO data for 2024 show 56% of Kazakhstan's adult population is overweight, above the global average of 45%, supporting local demand for obesity (搜索) and diabetes treatments.
Kazakhstan's Health Ministry has issued a registration certificate to Russia's Promomed (搜索) biopharmaceutical company for the tirzepatide medicinal product Tirzetta (搜索), indicated for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus (搜索) and obesity (搜索). According to Promomed, the drug will become the first officially available product with this active substance in the country.
"In the near future, Tirzetta (搜索) will appear on the Kazakh market. Our drug will become the first officially available drug with this active substance in the country," the company said.
Dual Incretin Mechanism
Tirzepatide, the active ingredient of Tirzetta (搜索), belongs to a new class of incretins that activates two receptors regulating metabolism simultaneously — GLP-1 and GIP. Promomed (搜索) states that their combined effect provides greater selectivity in the regulation of metabolism, blood insulin and glucose levels, and metabolic rate in specific tissues. As a result, body weight decreases mainly through increased metabolism of adipose tissue reserves.
The company describes the effect of the drug as providing a new quality of body weight reduction: a marked decrease in the volume of adipose tissue while carefully preserving the muscular corset and forming a physiologically correct silhouette.
Demand Driven by Overweight Prevalence
Promomed (搜索) noted demand in Kazakhstan for treatment of diabetes and other problems associated with obesity (搜索). According to WHO data for 2024 cited by the company, 56% of Kazakhstan's adult population are overweight, higher than the global average of 45%.
Commercial Positioning and Export Strategy
The Tirzetta (搜索) brand is the flagship in Promomed (搜索)'s portfolio. According to DSM Group, it became the best-selling drug in Russian pharmacies in 2026, with a 70% share of sales among all tirzepatide-based drugs in the first half of the year.
Promomed (搜索) has already established Promomed-Pharma LLP in Kazakhstan to promote its products in international markets. Alexander Yefremov, the company's general director, said export revenues will amount to about 5% of Promomed's total income by the end of 2026. The Promomed Group held an IPO in July 2024, with the placement attracting about ₽6 billion (US$71 million), income that has assisted in getting the company into other markets.
Tirzepatide's Broader Market and Patent Landscape
The Kazakh registration follows regulatory activity for tirzepatide elsewhere in the region. Russia's Health Ministry has issued a registration certificate for tirzepatide API to China's Hubei JXBio Pharmaceutical (搜索). That API is used in the Russian-made drug Tirzero Slim (搜索), registered by PSK Pharma (搜索) in March 2026.
In the first quarter of 2026, sales of tirzepatide overtook MSD (搜索)'s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) to become the world's top-selling drug, with revenue nearing $9 billion. The original developer, Eli Lilly, held a Eurasian patent for tirzepatide until November 2024.
Dmitry Klimchuk, owner and CEO of industry consultancy VIT Pharma, said the key point is not the arrival of another market player, but that tirzepatide now has its own independent registration in Russia, rather than being bundled into a manufacturer's dossier. Klimchuk stressed that once patent protection on the molecule expired in Russia in November 2024, the barrier shifted from intellectual property to general access to quality API.
According to the state medicines registry, tirzepatide drugs are now registered with Pharmasyntez (搜索), Geropharm (搜索) and Promomed (搜索), in addition to PSK Pharma (搜索). Promomed produces tirzepatide at its own Biochemist site, while the others source APIs from Hubei JXBio and other Chinese companies.