Nov 24, 2025

A Century of Pharmaceutical Industry Development in Macedonia: Alkaloid, Digital Transformation, and the Irreplaceable Role of Pharmacists

Approximately one hundred first-year students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University attended the lecture “New Trends in the Pharmaceutical Industry: How the Role of Pharmacists Is Being Transformed”, delivered by Zhivko Mukaetov, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Management Board of Alkaloid AD Skopje.



The development of pharmacy in Macedonia stretches across nearly a century — beginning with Rajna Aleksova becoming the first female pharmacist in the Balkans upon receiving her diploma from the University of Lausanne, continuing with Ahil Chalovski opening the first pharmacy in Bitola, advancing through the commissioning of the extraction facilities at the first Yugoslav alkaloid factory in 1936 on the Skopje-Veles road, and culminating in Alkaloid's transformation into a modern pharmaceutical industry with nine decades of uninterrupted growth, substantial investments, its own manufacturing facilities, and a commanding presence across more than 50 international markets.



During the lecture, part of the “Fundamentals of Pharmacy” course, Mukaetov walked students through these defining historical milestones, offering an overview of how pharmacy has developed locally. He also addressed the current dynamics shaping the industry, particularly the rapidly expanding role of artificial intelligence in essential systems and operational processes.


“The purpose of every pharmaceutical product is to improve the quality of life at an affordable price, with trust playing a vital role. Brands persevere only when they consistently deliver on their promises,” Mukaetov emphasized.



Bringing a new drug to market represents an extensive and exceptionally costly research and development endeavor that demands seamless collaboration between academic institutions and industry partners. Within this context, artificial intelligence is emerging as an increasingly vital component of pharmaceutical development, facilitating more strategic research planning and sophisticated analysis of vast datasets, thereby substantially reducing both timeframes and expenditures associated with new drug development. In this process of transformation, pharmacists assume an even more pivotal role.



“If artificial intelligence creates opportunities for faster drug discovery and development, streamlined processes, and deeper data-driven insights, then pharmacists are the ones who provide the necessary clinical interpretation. This is why their role in the industry’s evolution — as clinical strategists, supervisors of AI-based systems, and specialized patient-focused professionals — is irreplaceable. Pharmacists are the first point of support for patients, vital partners to healthcare professionals, advocates for scientific progress, and a key foundation of the generics industry,” Mukaetov stated.



The Alkaloid Group employs 3,023 individuals, including 623 graduate pharmacists and 226 pharmaceutical technicians. Each year, more than 840 students from the Faculty of Pharmacy in Skopje take part in diverse development programs at Alkaloid.