The Ministry of Health knows how to make medicines more affordable in Ukraine

31 January 10:56

Representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Antimonopoly Committee, the Ministries of Economy and Health, the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control, as well as market participants: pharmacy business, domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and professional associations gathered in a working group to discuss how to improve state regulation of prices for medicines. This was reported by the Ministry of Health, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

As many Ukrainians know, prices for medicines with the same active ingredient can vary significantly depending on the manufacturer and brand name. As a result, patients often overpay without having an alternative, as the cheapest drug may simply not be available in the pharmacy. The Ministry of Health has prepared proposals to address this and other problems related to the availability of medicines.

Competitive impact on prices

It is proposed to introduce the Prozorro Market e-catalog as a tool for determining the indicative price of medicines. This will allow pharmacy chains to procure medicines at competitive prices, and patients to be sure that affordable medicines are always available.

According to the new rules, all pharmacies selling medicines from the National List will be obliged to have in their assortment the drug with the lowest price determined through requests for proposals in Prozorro Market. Such requests will be conducted at least once a year.

Prohibition of manipulative advertising

Other important changes include updating the rules for advertising and promotion of medicines in line with EU directives. The Ministry of Health proposes to introduce the concept of “good promotional practice” to help prevent manipulation of consumers. This means that improper marketing activities that influence the growth of prices for prescription drugs will be prohibited. This includes hidden price manipulation (e.g., deferred discounts), advertising outside pharmacies, and advertising services that do not meet established standards.

Simplification of state registration

Another initiative is to simplify access to the market for medicines procured centrally and already included in WHO lists or international programs. This will make it possible to bring quality medicines to the Ukrainian market faster, providing patients with the necessary medicines in the shortest possible time.

Following the meeting, the participants conceptually supported these initiatives and agreed to formalize the proposals in the form of amendments to the legislation.

Drug price regulation is subject to public discussion

At the end of October last year, the Ministry of Health submitted for public discussion a draft Cabinet of Ministers resolution “On Amendments to Clause 1 of Government Resolution No. 955” on the regulation of prices for medicines. The purpose of the amendments is to reduce the cost of medicines for citizens by ensuring accessibility, especially for those medicines subject to the state reimbursement program.

The draft resolution proposes to establish maximum supply and marketing markups and maximum trade (retail) markups for:

– medicinal products registered in Ukraine;

– medicinal products released into circulation during the period during which the medicinal product was authorized for use in Ukraine and used until the expiration date specified by the manufacturer and indicated on the package (except for narcotic, psychotropic drugs, precursors and medical gases), which are purchased from sources not prohibited by law, except for state and local budgets.

Василевич Сергій
Editor