“Patients without a choice: the head of the Orphan Diseases of Ukraine defends the Molnlycke Health Care monopoly. The Swedish company Molnlycke Health Care created a monopoly due to the peculiarities of medical documentation.”, — write on: unn.ua
During the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee, representatives of the Ukrainian Medical Association noted that the medical documentation, namely the instructions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, are prescribed in such a way that only one company – the Swedish manufacturer Molnlycke Health Care – can participate in state tenders for the purchase of bandages. AMCU believes that there is currently no competition on the Ukrainian market and a monopoly has been created, which is a violation of the law. In this way, a sufficiently transparent hint was made about corruption, which should be checked by law enforcement agencies.
To defend its interests at the meeting of the parliamentary committee, the Swedish company used Tetiana Kulesha, head of the GS “Orphan Diseases of Ukraine”, who made a number of manipulative and false statements, which could be another confirmation of corruption.
In particular, Tetyana Kulesha said that there are no analogues of Swedish bandages in Ukraine, which are used to care for the wounds of orphaned patients. Although in fact a Ukrainian company, whose production facilities are located in Egypt, participated in the tender.
Despite the fact that the position of Inna Gedeon, the head of the office of medical care for children with bullous epidermolysis in “Okhmatdyt”, who stated that she did not use Ukrainian bandages and cannot give a conclusion about their action, Tetyana Kulesha was openly manipulated, was voiced at the Committee meeting.
“No country in the world, in any protocols, does not use this medicinal product, which is now trying to enter the market of Ukraine. For all of us, this is nonsense. You have all seen that these patients use very thin, non-sticky, absolutely correct, medicinal products for their What is now on our market – if you (AMKU commission) have seen it, touched it with your hands – it is a bandage that is even larger than 5 millimeters ordinary wounds, but it will never close the wounds of epidermolysis bullosa in its life, and if it closes, it will come off together with the skin. I emphasize once again – this medicine is not used in any country in the world, nowhere,” said Kulesha.
At the same time, it is worth noting that Ukrainian analogues are identical to Swedish bandages, but four times cheaper. Moreover, they are actively used by other countries – Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Turkey, the USA, Germany and others.
Interestingly, Ukrainian bandages previously received a Certificate of Conformity, according to technical regulation 753, from the conformity assessment body – the Ukrainian Center for Medical Certification and Forecasting. The thickness of the bandage from the Ukrainian manufacturer is less than 2 mm, as required by the specification. Even their name states that the product is super thin, which is critical for treating the wounds of butterfly patients.
Kulesha said that both she and orphan patients want cheaper analogues of Swedish bandages to appear on the Ukrainian market. At the same time, she called for stricter regulation at the state level of checking bandages for orphaned patients. However, Kulesha kept silent about the fact that currently, due to the artificially created monopoly of Molnlycke Health Care, other manufacturers cannot participate in the tender, nor did she point out the corruption risks.
Referring to the treatment protocols for patients with epidermolysis bullosa, she confirmed that the documentation clearly stated that Molnlycke Health Care dressings should be used without any alternative. However, according to generally accepted standards, including European regulations, only the types of means for treating wounds, for example, “sponge bandage”, should be indicated in medical protocols, but not the names of the manufacturing companies. This fact, as well as the fact that the protocol has not been revised for almost 9 years, although there are analogues on the market that are no worse in quality and are many times cheaper, indicates corruption, conflict of interests and involvement related to the Swedish company.
That is, the patients and the state are put in a situation of choice without a choice – they were actually imposed with expensive Swedish bandages. At the same time, the foreign giant, thanks to its resources and corrupt connections, does not allow everyone who offers analogues to the market. Because of pocket associations, the thesis is poured into the ears of patients that there are no analogues and they want the best for them, but in fact it is just a business for misfortune.
We will remind
UNN launched an investigation to find out how the Swedish company Molnlycke Health Care, specializing in the production of bandages, managed to create a monopoly on the Ukrainian market. After all, the manufacturer secured undisputed dominance in state tenders for the purchase of wound care products for patients with epidermolysis bullosa. In particular, the preliminary analysis revealed a possible conflict of interest in tender purchases through the public union headed by Tetiana Kulesha.