Medicines will soon be 30% cheaper in Georgia

Georgia is about to implement "one of the biggest projects” in the healthcare sector that will see the cost of medicines reduced by 30 percent. 

The project also envisaged a complete overhaul of three of the country's hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry to ensure it meets top European standards.

Georgia's state-owned shareholding company, the Partnership Fund (PF), and the country’s Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs today discussed future plans with AlphaMedic, an Austrian consortium, to turn this project into reality.

The three sides met in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi to discuss the Tbilisi Cluster Healthcare PPP Transformation Project. The project was proposed by AlphaMedic as a way to improve Georiga's primary healthcare services.

AlphaMedic was one of three companies who applied for a Government tender last year that envisaged full rehabilitation of three Georgian hospitals based in capital Tbilisi - Central Republican Hospital, the Tbilisi Oncology Centre and the Khliani Children’s Infectious Disease Hospital.

While the winner of the tender has not yet been announced, the Government implied AlphaMedic would likely win the tender as it had developed a comprehensive plan to develop the three hospitals. It was also the only shortlisted company that managed to present its development plan to the Georgian Government within the tender deadline.

The PF and Georgia’s Ministry of Labour Health and Social Affairs today discussed future plans with Austrian AlphaMedic Consortium to turn this project into reality. Photo by the PF.

Today AlphaMedic said it would invest 250 million GEL ($100.5 million/€89.7 million*)  to rehabilitate the three hospitals. The total cost of the project was expected to reach about half a billion USD (1.24 billion GEL), which the agreement stated would be covered by the tender winning company and the PF.

According to the tender requirements, the winning company was obliged to attract investments and create a development plan for the three hospitals. Furthermore the winner must design, construct and reconstruct the state’s medical clinics so they meet European standards, including equipping them with high-quality medical technology.

This will be the first large-scale reform in Georgia’s hospital and healthcare sectors. We are studying the project offered by the AlphaMedic Consortium,” said head of the PF David Saganelidze.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s Health Minister David Sergeenko said if the Ministry and the PF approved AlphaMedic’s hospital development plan, the rehabilitation process would begin this year and by the beginning of 2019 Georgia would have world-class medical infrastructure.

Meanwhile the PF and another Austrian company, Humanity Holding, will build a new European standard pharmaceutical factory in Orkhevi territory in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.

We believe the price of medicines will reduce by 30 percent and once the new pharmaceutical factory begins operating, the price [of medicines] will be halved,” Saganelidze said.

The factory will produce at least 800 pharmaceutical products.

* Currency rates are as of today's National Bank of Georgia exchange rate.