Pharmaceutical Market Analysis of Topical Semi-Solid Dosage Forms for Skin Disorders in Kazakhstan

Artyom Savelyev, D. P. Khrustalev, Лосева Ирина Викторовна, Azamat Yedrissov, Anastassiya Khrustaleva, Vladimir Kazantsev, Sofiya Shapovalenko, Marlen Kiikbayev, Polina Rusyaeva, Kristina Perepelitsyna

2026

Full text Open access: Gold Metadata (CSL-JSON)
DOI 10.3390/ph19091357
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Background: Topical semi-solid dosage forms are crucial for treating inflammatory skin disorders, wounds, burns, and superficial infections. Despite their widespread clinical use, comprehensive pharmaceutical market analyses of registered topical medicines remain limited in Central Asia. The aim of this study was to characterize the pharmaceutical market of topical semi-solid dosage forms registered in the Republic of Kazakhstan, including their dosage-form distribution, pharmacotherapeutic composition, manufacturer structure, and structural diversity of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), with particular attention to heterocyclic compounds. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive analysis was conducted using the State Register of Medicinal Products of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Registration records of topical semi-solid dosage forms were identified according to predefined inclusion criteria and classified by dosage form, pharmacotherapeutic category, manufacturer, country of origin, and API chemical structure. Descriptive statistical analysis, market concentration indices, and structural classification of heterocyclic compounds were applied. Therapeutic recommendations for dermatitis management from selected CIS countries were reviewed to provide a contextual interpretation of the observed market structure. Results: A total of 1046 registered topical semi-solid dosage forms met the inclusion criteria. Ointments (39.5%), gels (28.9%), and creams (25.4%) accounted for 93.8% of all registered products, indicating a highly concentrated dosage-form structure. Anti-inflammatory agents represented the largest pharmacotherapeutic group, whereas wound-healing and combination products accounted for smaller proportions of the market. Structural classification demonstrated broad representation of established heterocyclic chemical classes, while no registered medicinal products containing dihydropyrimidine-2(1H)-thione (DHPM-thione) derivatives were identified in the registry. Comparison with regional clinical recommendations indicated differences between recommended therapeutic approaches and the distribution of registered pharmacotherapeutic categories. Conclusions: This study provides the first comprehensive descriptive assessment of the registered market of topical semi-solid dosage forms in Kazakhstan. The results establish a reference dataset describing the current pharmaceutical landscape, including dosage forms, therapeutic categories, manufacturers, and API chemical classes. The absence of registered DHPM-thione-containing medicinal products indicates that this chemical class is currently not represented in the national medicines registry. Together with previously published preclinical evidence, this observation supports consideration of DHPM-thione derivatives as a subject for future pharmaceutical research, although the present study does not permit conclusions regarding their clinical effectiveness, market demand, or future commercialization.