Ukraine to introduce reference pricing and plans for prescription system

The Ukraine Ministry of Health and domestic producers of pharmaceuticals have signed a memorandum of understanding to regulate the prices of hypertension and diabetes drugs, reports Sebastian Gensior, writing on the europe-health-care-eu web site.

The pilot project will begin as of June 1 and there will be a price stop on hypertension drugs. Patients suffering from hypertension can also receive discounts on drugs if they show a prescription from a doctor.

Another reform will have a more profound impact on the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market, says Mr Gensior. So far, no prescription is needed to purchase any drug in Ukraine. The government wants to tackle this law and plans to introduce prescriptions for medicines. According to local experts, 85% of the population buys its drugs without prescription and mainly based on the advice of friends, or advertising.