The reality of the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine

Abstract

The article analyzes the structure and the dynamics of Ukraine’s pharmaceutical market development. The author establishes that comparing to other spheres of economy the market under consideration is characterized by stability and vibrancy and ranks second after Russia by the market scope among the CIS countries.
The author determines that during the last years the retail segment has been dominating both in the monetary and in the natural expression. As far as the hospital segment is concerned, there is a declining trend in this segment’s sales volume caused mainly by the lack of the government support of the medical institutions of Ukraine.
The results of the analysis of the quantitative composition of pharmaceutical products by their types and origin reveal that this market is import-dependent.
The analysis of the pharmacy network that provides ¾ of pharmaceutical drugs consumption shows the declining sales volume and insufficient consolidation. However, the distribution market is characterized by a high degree of consolidation and by the trend of growth of its share in the structure of pharmaceutical products supply.
The author has revealed the problems that require urgent solutions.
The results of the volume analysis of the pharmaceutical products market have proven that in Ukraine generics of foreign manufacture are domineering. In addition to that, taking into account high cost of development of new analog pharmaceutical products, the pharmaceutical drugs of the Soviet time still possess the lion’s share in the structure of the domestic manufacture of the pharmaceutical products.
The author analyzes the concept of the State Program for Import Replacement.
The author proves that this draft concept is unmotivated and its implementation can lead to the slowdown in the development of the market in question. It has been proven that the introduction of reimbursement in Ukraine at the current stage is problematic because no procedures of introduction of this really efficient mechanism as well as no legislative basis for regulating pricing and quality control have been developed.