Trust is True Currency

On October 7–9, 2025, the 6th Eurasian Pharmaceutical Summit will take place at Tashkent Pharma Park, organized by the British company Global Pharmaceutical Leaders’ Club. Over the past few years, the Summit has become a key platform for dialogue among regulators, manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacy chains from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe.

Ideas often emerge unexpectedly, but only a few develop into projects that truly transform the market. The Eurasian Pharmaceutical Summit is one such initiative, now bringing together hundreds of industry leaders and regulatory representatives. As an independent platform, the Summit enables all stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector to voice their opinions and be heard.

We spoke with Natalia Baeva, Director of the Global Pharmaceutical Leaders’ Club, about how the Summit originated, the surprising insights these meetings generate, and why it has earned the trust of so many participants.

What was the inspiration behind creating the Eurasian Pharmaceutical Summit, and how did the concept come about?

When we first conceived the Summit and selected its name, our vision encompassed the entire Eurasian continent. Our aim was to bring together countries from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and parts of Eastern Europe. We placed particular emphasis on the CIS countries and Mongolia, as these markets are typically managed by a single senior executive within international pharmaceutical companies.

Today, we can confidently say that the Summit has achieved a unique level of representation: each year, it brings together around 300 participants, including regulators, pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacy chains. This provides a platform for meaningful dialogue among all key stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector.

Each year, we carefully review the outcomes and explore new directions for development. For instance, this year, representatives from Georgian regulatory authorities will be attending the Summit for the first time. Georgia has attracted significant interest from pharmaceutical companies due to the efficiency of its local regulatory processes. Moreover, the level of regulator delegations has increased annually: whereas in the early years we hosted individual experts, today the Summit welcomes heads of agencies and leaders of key departments.

The support of Uzbek regulators is particularly important to us. During a meeting this past winter, Abdulla Azizov, Director of the Agency for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry of Uzbekistan, suggested holding the Summit at Tashkent Pharma Park. We gladly embraced this initiative, recognizing the strategic importance of the facility for the pharmaceutical sector in Uzbekistan and the wider region.

We also recognize that many of the countries represented at the Summit are relatively small. This makes it particularly important for us to ensure their voices are heard and to support improved access to medicines for their populations. This mission continues to drive and inspire our efforts to broaden the scope of dialogue and collaboration across the region.

In 2024, aiming for a deeper understanding of local markets and recognizing the high level of delegate engagement at the Eurasian Summit, we launched the Kazakhstan Pharmaceutical Forum. The outcomes exceeded our expectations: this year, around 20 representatives from Kazakhstan’s regulatory authorities participated, led by Vice Minister Yerzhan Nurlybayev. This experience highlighted the value of organizing events not only at a regional level but also in a national format, allowing for focused discussions on the specific realities and priorities of each market.

In what ways has your professional experience shaped the concept and development of the Eurasian Pharmaceutical Summit?

I have been organizing pharmaceutical conferences since 2017, with a total of 13 years of experience in the events industry. Prior to that, I worked in journalism, PR, and GR, which provided me with valuable insights into building constructive relationships with diverse expert groups. This background enables me to create high-quality events where every participant has the opportunity to share their perspective and be heard.

Since 2018, we have observed a sustained interest from pharmaceutical companies in the Uzbekistan market. Therefore, when we decided to launch the Eurasian Pharmaceutical Summit in 2021 in an offline format after the pandemic, we selected Tashkent as the main venue. Today, we are proud to see that the Summit has genuinely become a hub where pharmaceutical companies can engage directly with regulators, while regulators from different countries explore new opportunities for collaboration.

For example, in 2023, we invited representatives from the Polish Center for Drug Registration to the Summit. Within a year, Uzbek regulators signed a cooperation agreement with them. Similarly, our collaboration with the Moldovan Center for Drug Registration – whose head attended the Summit twice – ultimately led to a cooperation agreement with Uzbek regulators as well.

These examples demonstrate that the Summit successfully fulfills its core mission: serving as a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and the advancement of the pharmaceutical industry across the region.

What makes the Eurasian Pharmaceutical Summit unique?

The main distinguishing feature of the Summit is that it covers the development of pharmaceutical markets across 11 countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe. This allows participants to compare practices, identify common trends, and discuss opportunities for intercountry collaboration. It creates both scale and depth in discussions. For companies, it offers a unique chance to gain a comprehensive view of the region and better understand where new opportunities are emerging.

We place a strong emphasis on interactive formats. In addition to traditional plenary sessions, the Summit features panel discussions, strategic sessions, roundtables, and one-on-one meetings with regulators, distributors, and pharmacy chains. This approach enables participants not only to listen but also to actively engage in dialogue, examine practical case studies, and explore solutions they can apply in their own work.

A particular point of pride for the Summit is its ability to bring together distributors and pharmacy chains from across the region, including from highly closed markets such as Turkmenistan. This year, distributors from Azerbaijan will join the offline sessions in Tashkent for the first time, further enhancing the richness of the discussions.

Each year, the level of representation from regulatory authorities continues to rise. Achieving this requires systematic preparatory work throughout the year: meeting with experts to understand local market specifics, building strong relationships with regulators, and fostering dialogue with key market players.

What are the Summit’s strategic goals for both participants and the regional pharma market?

In short, our goal is to help pharmaceutical markets in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe become more mature and patient-focused. For participants, the Summit offers a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights and connect with a professional community of partners and like-minded peers. For the industry as a whole, it provides a platform to accelerate development, improve transparency, and make the rules of the game more predictable.

Which topics or sessions, in your opinion, spark the most interest and the deepest discussions?

Issues related to market regulation, drug registration, and pricing, as well as access to innovative and high-quality generic medicines, remain critical in the region, as they form the foundation for long-term business development. The development of local and contract manufacturing, particularly in the post-pandemic context and under evolving regulatory priorities, also sparks significant debate. Increasing attention is being paid to public procurement systems, which directly influence market stability and medicine availability. Discussions on trends in the distribution and pharmacy sectors are consistently highly engaged and often emotionally charged.

If you could change one key practice in the pharmaceutical industry, what would it be and why?

I would focus on harmonizing drug registration and distribution requirements across the region. Currently, companies encounter duplicated procedures and varying regulatory approaches, which delay the entry of medicines into the market. Establishing common standards and mutual recognition of results would streamline processes and improve patient access to medicines.

What persistent misconceptions about the pharmaceutical business would you like to dispel?

The most common myth is that pharmaceutical companies care only about profit. Having worked closely with many industry leaders, I can say they understand that trust and long-term relationships with regulators, patients, and healthcare professionals are equally valuable – without them, the business cannot thrive. Another misconception is that regulators and companies are always on opposing sides. In reality, all stakeholders share the same goal: ensuring patients have access to safe, high-quality, and effective medicines.

What global and regional trends in pharmaceuticals do you observe today, and how do they influence the concept of the Summit?

Globally, key trends include personalized medicine, advances in biotechnology, and the digitalization of healthcare. Increasing attention is also being given to the use of artificial intelligence – from accelerating drug development to forecasting demand and optimizing clinical trials.

In our region, the focus remains on localizing production, national pricing policies, and enhancing public procurement systems. Our goal is to bridge these two levels: to demonstrate how global trends can be applied in Eurasian realities, while providing the region a platform to be heard alongside global players.

What strategies do you use to foster trust and productive collaboration among participants?

We strive to create a warm, intimate, almost “club-like” atmosphere at the Summit. It’s not just what happens on stage that matters, but also roundtables, one-on-one meetings, and informal interactions. When participants feel they are among colleagues rather than just conference attendees, trust develops naturally. This trust often evolves into real projects and partnerships.

Register for the Eurasian Pharmaceutical Summit now and join the leading players of the pharmaceutical markets from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe at this unique regional conference in Tashkent and online, from October 7–9!