Ukraine's pharmaceutical industry is recovering after the war's first days shock

In February-March 2022, sales of medicines in the Ukrainian pharmacies increased by 14%* compared to the same period last year. At that, the sales decline in March was primarily due to the number of pharmacies opened in the country. However, according to the Medicines State Control Authority Derzhliksluzhba, although in the first days of the war, only about 10% of pharmacies were operating, as of March 24, 80 % of pharmacies are already open. A lower percentage of open pharmacies is observed only in the east of the country.

At the same time, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine, the share of hospital purchases has increased significantly. For example, in Darnitsa, the country's largest pharmaceutical company, this share in March accounted for about 40% of its portfolio, although usually the hospital market share, taking into account international purchases, makes 7.5 to 8%. The pharmaceutical company also noted the demand for medicines necessary in the cases when population affected by chemical or radiation weapons. Darnitsa is actively cooperating with the Ministry of Public Health to meet the needs of the state on the protection of the civilian's lives even in the face of such threats.

"The war also changed the situation on the drug market. First point, some imported medicines almost disappeared from the market due to logistical problems. Secondly, many Ukrainians changed their attitude towards foreign pharmaceutical companies which remained operating in the market of the aggressor country. Moreover, the Ministry of Public Health urged Ukrainians to choose medicines based on their active ingredient and availability at the pharmacy, not on the producer's brand name or the medicine's brand. All medicines of both Ukrainian and foreign production pass the state registration procedure, so all medicines are of the same quality. Therefore, we predict a further increase in demand for Ukrainian medicines and a change in the drug consumption structure shifting in favor of the domestic manufacturer," said Dmytro Shymkiv, chairman of the Board of Directors of Darnitsa Group.

Now pharmaceutical enterprises of Ukraine continue the production, or have resumed production at least partially and are working to meet the healthcare system needs.

Shymkiv also stressed that the company, well aware of the existing risks, formed the necessary reserves of raw materials, which allowed Darnitsa maintaining the production uninterruptedly. Today, the company is working to restore logistics aiming to obtain all the necessary components for the timely production of medicines.

"As for logistics, at the beginning of the war, everyone faced these problems. To ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines, Darnitsa, for example, opened vacancies for truck drivers, found vehicles and even provided some transportation routes by its own forces. Currently the logistics operations are regular. In addition, both postal operators and logistics companies resumed their activity," Shymkiv said.

Recall that recently the World Health Organization officially identified Darnitsa as the only pharmaceutical company in Ukraine that will receive technology for mRNA-based vaccines production. In addition, Darnitsa has signed an agreement to obtain a license for the development and production of a generic version of Pfizer's oral anti-COVID drug.

"We believe that a powerful and innovative pharmaceutical industry is a most important component of the state's national security. Firstly, this was proved by the recent pandemic, and now it is confirmed by the war. We expect that after our victory, the state will pay a due attention to pharmaceutical safety and offer to the domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers transparent and predictable rules of the game allowing businesses to invest more boldly in development. We do mean here creating a developed system of reserve raw material warehouses, research centers, etc," Dmytro Shymkiv stressed.

Reference

PJSC pharmaceutical company "Darnitsa" was founded in 1930. Since 1998, Darnitsa is the leader in Ukrainian pharmaceutical industry in terms of drug production in kind. Strategic areas of products portfolio development include cardiology, neurology, and pain management.

*Proxima Research Data