Patients have not yet seen lower drug prices; reforms are just beginning – Director of the Patients of Ukraine Charitable Foundation

For three months now, a ban on marketing agreements between pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacies has been in effect in Ukraine. The main goal of introducing the ban was to reduce the final prices of medicines for patients. However, the desired effect has not yet been achieved. This was confirmed to UNN in an exclusive comment by Inna Ivanenko, executive director of the BF "Patients of Ukraine".

Patients do not yet feel a significant improvement in the cost or accessibility of medicines. There has been no noticeable reduction in drug prices in the last three months. At the beginning of the year, the state tried to intervene manually - prices for 100 popular trade names were reduced. But this step mostly did not bring results. Many of these drugs were not really effective or were already low-cost - in fact, this list did not meet the real needs of patients,

According to Ivanenko, such manual regulation of drug prices is not a solution. After all, instead of pinpoint actions, a systemic change in the approach to market regulation is needed.

At the same time, Ivanenko noted that the launch of an electronic catalog of medicines, reference pricing, and the introduction of a parallel import mechanism are the right directions for market development, the implementation of which requires time.

We understand that there is currently a transitional stage: the state is launching new mechanisms that should have an effect in the long term. We hope that patients will soon feel financial relief,

In addition, the director of the BF "Patients of Ukraine" complained about the chronic underfunding of state purchases. According to her, this year, purchases of first-line medicines (basic therapy - ed.) are underfunded by an average of 30%. Purchases of innovative medicines under managed access agreements are underfunded by 90%. And the mechanism that was supposed to allow the state to purchase expensive drugs cheaper has not been launched at all.

Due to underfunding, many patients do not receive timely and complete treatment, and the state does not use tools that could really change the situation. Due to lack of funding, the managed access agreement mechanism cannot operate at full capacity, although it is precisely this that allows the state to purchase expensive drugs cheaper - through confidential negotiations with manufacturers. In many countries, this is how access to expensive but vital medicines is provided. But in Ukraine, this tool has not yet been fully launched,

The consequences of this are very specific: patients do not receive treatment on time, are forced to buy expensive medicines at their own expense, look for drugs abroad, or give up therapy altogether. This is not about abstract numbers - it is about the lives of people who daily depend on funding decisions.

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Recall

Since February 14, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has introduced new rules for regulating the pharmaceutical market by Resolution No. 168. According to the resolution, retail was prohibited from concluding marketing agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers. As a result of which pharmacies could offer discounts to patients, implement social projects, and conduct training for pharmacists.

However, as of June 2025, analysts are recording an increase in drug prices in Ukraine, despite government initiatives. And in January-April 2025, drug consumption in monetary terms increased by +21% in hryvnias compared to the same period in 2024. This indicates an increase in the cost per unit of product: Ukrainians spend more money on drugs, although they do not buy more than last year. After all, the volume of sold packages has almost not changed.