The world trend for strengthening the positions of pharmaceutical companies is present in Ukraine too. According to an accredited guide “Pharmaceutics of Ukraine 2021”, there is a significant growth in the pharmaceutical market in Ukraine now.
This guide was prepared jointly by Top Lead and ZAO “Darnitsa” as a part of the analytical project by Business Views. The boost in the industry was induced by the use of innovative technologies at the manufacturing, and great enhancement of the management style.
As the guide mentioned above states, in 2020 there was a rise in sales recorded in results of twenty companies-leaders. More than 50% of the pharmaceutical companies were able to increase their presence in the market, which reached a volume of USD 4 billion at the beginning of the year.
The pharmacies segment is of great interest as it displays consistent sales growth. Its pre-pandemic growth rate was 12,6% on average. But even under the lockdown, when other industries had to practically stop, the pharmaceutical market experienced a 7,9% growth.
The chairman of the Darnitsa Group Board of Directors, Dmytro Shymkiv, thinks that the main reason the pharmaceutical industry is so stable both on the domestic and the world level is the culture of innovation. In Ukraine, in particular, before the pandemic, this sector has witnessed great investment amounting to UAH 1,5 billion.
This money was allocated for automating the manufacturing, and for digitalizing the management systems. As a result, the labor efficiency has increased, reaching a very high for Ukraine level – UAH 1,4 million of GDP per employee, which allows attracting highly qualified staff into the industry. In the last decade, Ukrainian producers have strengthened their positions at the local market and increased their share in monetary terms from 28% to 37%.
Even during the pandemic, the companies were able to supply the medicines in the necessary amount. Though the import of medicines is still notable on the domestic market, Ukrainian pharma is gradually starting to expand to external markets. The export of Ukrainian medicines now amounts to USD 235 million.
As already noted, a significant factor that boosted the industry was the transition to digital technologies in administration. The top manager noticed that this area has become especially attractive for investments in the conditions of lockdowns in 2020.
Among the main activities in this area, one can highlight the introduction of electronic document management, the use of electronic prescriptions, and the promotion of medicines sale via the Internet. The authors of the study, carried out jointly by Darnitsa and Business Views, suggest that growth in online sales will increase to 15% by 2026.
Dmytro Shymkiv also said that Ukrainian pharmacists are constantly negotiating with their foreign colleagues on the development of new drugs. He thinks that domestic companies are quite capable of reaching the global level in the near future. Ukrainian pharma is making significant efforts to find new sales markets, both in Europe and on other continents, primarily in Southeast Asia, North Africa, and Latin America.
The potential of Ukrainian pharmacists has been proved by the constant growth of sales in the domestic market, which happened due to investments in innovative technologies. The Ukrainian pharmaceutical industry has significant potential for further growth, but it is necessary to provide legislative support, carry out healthcare reform, and actively implement public-private partnership models in order to see it realized.