The coronavirus epidemic has become a hardship for the human race. For the first time in the last hundred years, people all over the world have become aware of the genuine threat to both their health and lives, which was brought about by the outbreak of a contagious disease. After joining an unequal battle with the unknown COVID-19 virus, those who initially exposed themselves to risk were doctors and medical personnel.

In the middle of March 2020, when the first cases of coronavirus infection had been reported in Kazakhstan, doctors, medical personnel and pharmacists faced a shortage of protective equipment: gloves, hazmat suits, protective glasses, respirators, and disinfectants. For many years SANTO has been working with various structures of the health care system, and having known the whole situation from an internal perspective, we could not stand on the sidelines.

From the very first day, our company began to supply medical institutions with personal protective equipment. Our company transitioned into constant production and did everything to ensure that those in need received the necessary PPE, medicines and disinfectants as soon as possible. SANTO provided personal protective equipment (visor masks, hazmat suits, medical gloves, and masks) to medical personnel in Nur-Sultan, Almaty, and Shymkent, and antiseptics for the military unit in Shymkent. Our company also provided medicinal products to the Shymkent Cardiology Centre, National Research Cardiac Surgery Centre and the nursing home affiliated with one of the Christian temples in Almaty.

Our Company has made every effort to increase the production volume to provide the citizens of the country with medicines. The SANTO plant produces essential medicines that the World Health Organization has classified as vital. These are the medicines that health care systems depend on and cannot work effectively without them. These medicines include antibiotics as well as medicines that address cardiovascular problems, acute conditions, diseases of the respiratory system, medicines for the treatment of gastrointestinal, neurological and psychiatric diseases, as well as the medicines for symptomatic treatment and many other things, including specialty medicines for more specific severe diseases, for example, biosimilars.