Yesterday, the Council of Ministers included the pharmaceutical industry in the list of priority sectors of the economy, thereby strengthening state support in this area. Since the beginning of the war, the main Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies have generally maintained their production capacities, while several companies have suffered from the consequences of the Russian strikes, in particular, in March, the warehouses of the pharmaceutical factory Farmak in Makarov, Kyiv Region. The damage then, according to the company, amounted to about 1.5 billion hryvnia.
What is the current level of state support for pharmaceutical manufacturers and will the industry be able to supply all medicines to Ukrainians? Igor Stakovichenko, an expert in the field of economics, answered these and other questions for the Open4business portal.
In his opinion, the production of medicines should now be equated by the state with the supply of the army, because in a belligerent state, medicine is one of the foundations of a stable situation in the front and the rear. ‘back.
“It is difficult to imagine that the army will be able to fight effectively if it does not benefit from high-level medical support. At the same time, the production of its own drugs is strategically important for the state. good, but having your own pharmaceutical industry operating in such a difficult time is much better. And this is understood within the government, ”said Igor Stakovichenko.
According to the expert, pharmaceutical production in Ukraine today is able to supply both the army and the population with a significant share of the necessary medicines. Igor Stakovichenko believes that the timely decisions of the government made since the beginning of the war made it possible to quickly adapt the industry to new conditions.
“In particular, last spring, amendments were passed to the law “On Medicines”, limiting the export of certain life-saving medicines. In addition, they greatly simplified the registration of pharmaceutical products during the war, creating an emergency procedure. This was done literally on the third day. Generally speaking, the government’s decision on the inclusion of pharmaceutical production in the list of priority industries is in keeping with the policy of support for industry, which has been sketched out since the start of the war. Such support should remain at the level of the main priorities of the state,” stressed Igor Stakovichenko.
