“Deadlock: the pharmaceutical market has been waiting for new marketing rules for five monthsFor the fifth month, the pharmaceutical market has been operating without clear rules after the ban on marketing agreements, which
has not led to a decrease in drug prices. Monitoring shows that prices have remained at the level of February 2025, and some drugs
have even increased in price.
”, — write: unn.ua
Although as early as March, the marketing ban was actively promoted as a panacea for high drug prices, today even the Ministry of Health admits that prices have not decreased. According to monitoring of the Tabletki.ua website, during the ban on marketing agreements between pharmacies and manufacturers, drug prices remained at the level of February 2025. For comparison, we took the most popular drugs from the Darnitsa plant, and the statistics are disappointing.
As market analysis shows, some popular drugs for treating chronic diseases, including hypertension or diabetes, have even increased in price by 10–40 hryvnias.
This once again proves that marketing does not affect the price of medicines, because if this thesis were true, manufacturers would have already lowered their ex-factory prices, which would have led to a chain reaction. After all, currently 74% of the drug’s cost is formed by the manufacturer, the rest of the markups are from distributors and pharmacies – and they are fixed.
Although market participants have been repeatedly promised to develop a new regulatory model that would allow marketing to operate in transparent and controlled conditions, there is still no solution.
According to UNN, one of the reasons for the delay in adopting new marketing rules was a legal conflict: there is currently no clear understanding of what “implementation of price referencing” means, as provided for by the current resolution. Due to this uncertainty, the launch of marketing is being postponed, and instead, it is planned to clarify the terminology and, accordingly, determine the moment from which marketing agreements can start working. The Ministry of Health admits that referencing is an endless process, as the list will be constantly replenished and updated at least once a year, as new drugs appear, so linking the launch of marketing to it is pointless.
It should be noted that several different draft resolutions have already been proposed to regulate marketing services. The first of them was called a compromise by market representatives, but at the last moment, this document was rejected and a new one was proposed, which the industry sharply criticized. The main problem for adopting new marketing rules is maintaining a balance between state regulation and economic autonomy.
It is important to understand that not only the usual tool for promoting goods was banned. Along with marketing, loyalty programs for patients, discounts on medicines, and the ability to support the work of pharmacies in remote and frontline areas, where they often operate at a loss, were also threatened.
While market players are waiting for certainty and stability, the patient is forced to pay more. But the longer the market remains in limbo, the harder it will be to bring it back to life. And the more expensive it will be for everyone – for business, for the state, and for the patient.
RecallSince March 1, 2025, Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168 has been in effect in Ukraine, which introduced restrictions on drug markups and a ban on marketing agreements. The government is currently reviewing its decision.
While the resolution has not yielded real results, as of June 2025, analysts are recording an increase in drug prices in Ukraine, despite government initiatives. Ukrainians also note that they have not felt a decrease in drug prices. The BF “Patients of Ukraine” also talks about the increase in drug prices instead of a decrease. According to Inna Ivanenko, the head of the foundation, patients do not yet feel a significant improvement in the cost or availability of medicines.