The new law allows another measure to fight corruption on the pharmaceutical market and let foreign meds flow in the local market easier.
Kyiv, May 30, 2016. This week the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will vote for draft law No. 4484 that simplifies procedure of state registration of medicines that have already been registered in countries with stringent regulations. Among them are the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland and the EU countries with the central system of drug registration. The draft law also sets down clear deadlines for the registration process: 10 + 7 days. This was informed by Olha Bogomolets, MP (faction “Petro Poroshenko Bloc”), Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Healthcare at a briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “The draft law allows us to make revolutionary changes in the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine, to break up a monopoly of those who over decades controlled hundreds of companies and won tenders by prior arrangements and thus prevented other high quality companies from entering the Ukrainian market,” noted Ms. Bogomolets.
According to Roman Ilyk, Deputy Minister of Healthcare of Ukraine, the draft law provides for a simplified procedure for medicines produced, registered and used in the abovementioned countries. He added that last year the market for medicines sold through pharmacy chain comprised 45 billion hryvnias. “People paid for them. However, it is still less than Ukrainians need,” noted Mr. Ilyk. According to the Deputy Minister, the World Health Organization will also provide its expert assessment of the document.
“As a member of the Ohmatdyt [biggest state hospital – UCMC note] board of trustees and a volunteer, I can say that during the last five years we bring medicines in suitcases, instead of buying them in pharmacies. This practice should become a thing of the past,” stated Hanna Hopko, MP (independent), chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Foreign Affairs Committee. She also noted that pharmaceutical lobbyists are trying to hamper this process of deregulation. According to Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, representative of the Reanimation package of reforms and Olha Stefanyshyn, representative of the Foundation “Patients of Ukraine”, now we should be ready for provocations, respective publications in the press, and to counteraction in the Parliament. Oleksandr Saenko, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, stressed that it is important that the draft law is adopted this week. “We have the last plenary before a break. It is important that this week we have a stable majority in the Healthcare Committee and in the session hall. Then we can have the results soon,” he noted.
Olha Bogomolets added that the network of pharmacies is another corrupt area in Ukraine. Decrees of the Cabinet of Ministers would return the reference prices lest the limits be exceeded. Besides, there should be a strict regulation of increments of prices in pharmacies. “The draft law only opens borders to drugs, but still much work in the country lies ahead,” noted the MP.
