Since March 1, new rules for regulating the pharmaceutical market have officially come into effect in Ukraine, which should reduce the cost of a number of medicines by almost 30%. However, in practice this has not brought any significant relief to the wallets of Ukrainians. Manufacturers continue to control the market, and pharmacies, finding themselves in a difficult situation, are forced to look for ways to survive.
According to experts, over the past three years, drug prices in Ukraine have increased by 120%, and before the March “reduction,” manufacturers raised the cost of drugs by 30%. The largest price increase occurred in January 2025. Despite these facts, Petro Bahriy, president of the Association of Drug Manufacturers of Ukraine, denies such figures, calling them “untrue,” although he does not provide specific counterarguments.
Analytical data show that 71.8% of the cost of medicines is formed by manufacturers. Pharmacies affect only 22.3%, and distributors - 5.9%. Ukrainian pharmacies have the lowest trade markup in Europe - 14-15%. At the same time, the manufacturers' markup remains uncontrolled and can reach 85%.
Bagriy avoids discussing these figures and instead blames the price hike on so-called “marketing agreements” between pharmacies and manufacturers. These agreements are prohibited under the new regulations. Manufacturers have saved about 25% of the money that previously went to marketing deductions, but prices for most drugs have remained high.
The price reduction affected only 100 drugs, selected not at the request of doctors or patients, but at the suggestion of the manufacturers themselves. For example, this list included seven types of “ascorbic acid” with different flavors, but not critically important drugs.
At the same time, prices for other drugs that were not included in the list, on the contrary, increased. Thus, the overall effect of the regulation turned out to be zero: the “cheaper” returned the cost of drugs only to the level of the end of 2024. For example, the blood pressure drug “Tonorma” has tripled in price in three years, and now it has simply returned to the price of the beginning of 2024.
The market is preparing for full price referencing, which is provided for by the bill No. 11493, signed by the president. However, this may lead to a reduction in the range, especially among international manufacturers. The European Business Association is already warning that this will negatively affect investors in the healthcare sector of Ukraine.
