Ukraine may restrict imports of foreign drugs

Ukraine may restrict imports of foreign drugs to the country, the quality of which do not comply with international standards, according to the press-service of the Ukrainian government. In addition, according to sources close to the government, this should make drugs more affordable to local population, the purchase power of which remains low, reports The Pharma Letter’s Russian correspondent.

Despite ever growing domestic production, high prices for drugs, so far, remain one of the main problems of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market. However there is a possibility that this problem may be partly solved in the near future as, prior to the elections in the national parliament, the Ukrainian government has reached an agreement with leading domestic pharmaceutical producers to reduce the prices of their products by at least 12%, promising instead to ban imports of those drugs, which have efficient Ukrainian production. In addition, the Ukrainian government is unhappy with the quality of many drugs, which are currently imported onto the domestic market.

Criticism from global drugmakers