Total drug sales at gas stations accounted for less than 0.1% of the retail market; experts surveyed by Interfax-Ukraine believe this segment has a negligible impact on the retail pharmaceutical market.
“As of today, 260 licenses have been issued, with more than a third of them in Kyiv and the surrounding region. This accounts for 1% of the total number of pharmacies on the market. These are more like pharmacy kiosks than pharmacies at gas stations,” said Iryna Horlova, CEO of the analytical and consulting firm Support in Market Development (SMD).
She noted that the law permits these retail outlets to sell only a specific list of limited over-the-counter medications, primarily pain relievers, nasal drops, and cold remedies.
“Since this accounts for 1% of the total number of pharmacies and potentially about 0.05% of the pharmaceutical market’s turnover, the opening of these pharmacies has had no impact and will have no impact on the country’s pharmaceutical market,” she said.
At the same time, Gorlova noted that “prices are regulated by law.”
“Last year, the National Price Catalog was introduced, which sets a price cap for each registered drug item; pharmacies are not allowed to sell it for more than that. Therefore, prices at gas station pharmacies cannot be higher than at regular pharmacies and will not affect price changes in any way,” she said.
At the same time, according to Gorlova, despite the fact that “this initiative brings Ukraine closer to other developed countries where the sale of medicines at gas stations is permitted, unfortunately, these initiatives will not help make medicines more accessible to rural regions, as was intended, but will increase their accessibility and convenience for drivers and their passengers.”
For his part, Dr. Serhiy Sur, a pharmaceutical scientist, also noted that “the authorization to sell medicines at gas stations has not yet had any impact on the market.”
“According to results from April 2026, medicines were sold at only 260 gas stations, and the total volume of sales amounted to just 354,000 UAH. The average turnover per location was 4,700 UAH per month. For comparison, sales of over-the-counter medicines in the retail market (across 18,000 pharmacies) totaled 5.167 billion UAH as of April 2026. Accordingly, the average turnover for this category of drugs per pharmacy was approximately 283,000 UAH per month. In other words, sales of over-the-counter drugs at gas stations as of April 2026 accounted for less than 0.007% of their sales in pharmacies,” he said.
According to Sura’s estimates, the sale of medicines at gas stations also did not affect pharmaceutical manufacturers’ product ranges due to insignificant sales volumes. “Drug manufacturers have no need to change their product ranges for this sales channel,” he said.
At the same time, he noted that there is currently no available analytical data on price differences for the same drugs at gas stations and in pharmacies, but the cost of drugs at gas stations, just as in pharmacies, must not exceed the maximum retail prices listed in the National Price Catalog.
“Theoretically, expanding the channel for selling medicines at gas stations could create additional opportunities for patients to access over-the-counter drugs, especially in certain situations—while traveling or outside standard pharmacy hours. At the same time, from a practical standpoint, one should not expect this channel to drive significant sales growth compared to volumes sold through the pharmacy network. Gas stations will remain a niche channel with a limited product range and a specific consumption model. Thus, this can only be seen as a selective addition to the existing sales structure, rather than a significant transformation of it,” he concluded.
Sur also noted that “there is no uniform approach to the sale of medicines at gas stations across EU countries”: in some countries, their sale is permitted only through pharmacies, while others allow sales outside of pharmacies, specifically at gas stations. However, this applies exclusively to a limited list of over-the-counter medications, typically intended for treating mild conditions that do not require complex diagnosis and pose a low risk to the patient’s health. Furthermore, such activities are accompanied by regulatory safeguards: the establishment of special lists, requirements for storage conditions, as well as personnel standards.
International experience, particularly in EU countries such as France and Austria, shows that the range of permitted over-the-counter medications at gas stations is quite limited—approximately 30–50 items. These are medications in small packages (2–4–6 tablets or capsules) and in standard but low dosages, for example, ibuprofen 200 mg.
GAS STATIONS, MEDICINES, over-the-counter drugs, PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET, PHARMACIES
