Since the beginning of 2024, the demand for neurological drugs, including antidepressants, as well as drugs used to treat dementia, epilepsy and antipsychotics, has been growing, Yevhen Zaika, regional director of the Acino pharma company, shares his observations.
“We see a significant increase in demand for neurological drugs: antidepressants, drugs for the treatment of dementia, epilepsy and antipsychotics,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
Zaika noted an increase in demand for cardiac and endocrinology drugs, as well as an increase in the share of nutritional supplements in the sales structure.
Commenting on the current situation in the pharma market, the expert noted that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, logistics has risen in price by 20-30%. To counteract blackouts, the Pharma Start plant in Kiev, which produces products for Acino, was equipped with two diesel generators, the office and production are provided with Starlink Internet.
Zaika said that Acino currently has 17 new products in development.
At the same time, he emphasized that Ukrainian requirements for the quality and manufacture of drugs are “very severe.”
“For example, the Ukrainian market applies the requirement for separate registration of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), which significantly increases the development time of new products, and also increases the cost of both developing and maintaining the active registration status of the product. In Europe, where we all aspire to, there is simply no such thing as AFI registration,” he said.
Commenting on the strategy of the company’s participation in budget procurement, Zaika noted that the volume of tender shipments grows annually in hryvnia equivalent, but the share of budget shipments remains approximately at the same level.
As reported, pharmacy sales in Ukraine in January-February 2024 increased in monetary terms by 21.6% compared to the same period of 2023 – up to UAH 32.331 billion, in physical terms – by 2.9% to 201.828 million packages. Pharmacy sales of medicinal products for two months of 2024 amounted to UAH 25.265 billion, which is 20.65% more than in the same period of 2023. At the same time, sales of drugs in physical terms increased by 2.6% to 142.869 million packs.
The Estonian Ministry of Finance expects zero growth of the country’s economy at the end of the current year.
According to the forecast published by the Ministry, the reduction in external demand in the second half of last year was stronger than expected, and the expected turn to economic recovery did not take place. This will have the consequence of the lack of growth in the current year.
The Ministry of Economy notes that last year, the exchange of goods contracted globally, driven by the cooling of the Chinese economy and geopolitical tensions. In developed countries and Europe, this was compounded by the rapid rise in interest rates, which was launched to curb inflation, and the deterioration in capital- and energy-intensive activities due to the energy crisis.
Nevertheless, according to the Ministry’s assessment, the factors restraining the development of the Estonian economy have been receding in recent years: price growth has slowed down, wage growth has continued, interest rates have gradually decreased, and there is no high unemployment.
The Estonian Ministry of Finance prepares a financial and economic forecast twice a year, in spring and summer.
Estonia’s GDP in 2023 has decreased by 3.1%. At the end of March 2024, the Bank of Estonia gave a forecast that the country’s GDP decline would slow down to “minus” 0.6% this year and the economy would grow by 3.2% in 2025.
Earlier Experts Club think tank and Maxim Urakin released a video analysis of how the GDP of the world’s largest economies has changed over the past decades, more video analysis is available here –
https://youtu.be/w5fF_GYyrIc?si=BsZmIUERHSBJrO_3
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ECONOMIC GROWTH, ESTONIA, EXPERTS CLUB, GDP, MACROECONOMICS, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, URAKIN
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers is considering raising electricity tariffs in the wake of Russia’s new attacks on the energy sector, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said in an interview with Bloomberg.
“Depending on the situation in July and August, we will ask people to save as much as possible. The Russians will not be able to cause a repeat of the blackouts of 2022 and 2023. Even in the event of huge losses, we will have a basic generation that will cover 30% to 50% of our needs,” the minister said.
At the same time, Galushchenko did not rule out an increase in electricity tariffs for households and said that the government is exploring various ways to finance the repair of its energy assets.
“Today the situation is even more complicated than last year, as we have lost a lot of hydropower production and are forced to carry out scheduled repairs of nuclear power units,” he said.
The minister emphasized that Russia’s bombing of Ukrainian energy facilities in recent weeks was more extensive and better planned than the attacks of the previous two years, disabling generating capacity and limiting electricity supplies. As a result, restoring equipment and protecting the power grid have become key priorities for the government, although it is struggling to assess the extent of the damage.
“The destruction was extensive – in power generation and transmission. The situation is complicated. We still do not understand the extent of the damage, as many facilities are still in ruins and we cannot get to them,” explained Galushchenko.
In addition, in the spring of 2024, thermal and hydroelectric power plants became the main targets of Russian strikes. These attacks threaten not only electricity losses but also environmental disasters, Galushchenko said.
“Attacks on hydroelectric power plants are terrorist acts and war crimes, as they affect not only energy production but also the operation of dams on rivers,” the minister said.
Russia’s goal is to destroy Ukraine’s economy, Galushchenko said, adding that more damage to the power system would make it harder to overcome this summer’s consumption peaks.
“We will definitely communicate with people. Everyone wants to live comfortably, but we have to take into account the fact that there are restrictions now,” the minister concluded.
Bloomberg, CABINET OF MINISTERS OF UKRAINE, ELECTRICITY, Herman Galushchenko, tariff increase
Change in consumer prices in 2023-2024
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
On Sunday, April 7, at night in most of the northern, central and southern regions of Ukraine are expected small, in Kirovograd, Odessa and Mykolayiv regions moderate rains, according to Ukrhydrometcenter.
In the rest of the territory, in the afternoon in Ukraine without significant precipitation.
The wind is predominantly north-westerly, 5-10 m/s.
The temperature at night 4-9° of heat, during the day 14-19°, in Transcarpathia up to 23°.
In Kiev, light rain at night, without significant precipitation during the day. The wind is northwest, 5-10 m/s. The temperature at night is 7-9° of heat, during the day 16-18°.
According to the Central Geophysical Observatory named after Boris Sreznevsky. Borys Sreznevsky, the highest temperature during the day on April 7 in Kiev was recorded in 1975, it was 26.5 °, the lowest at night – 5.8 ° frost in 1929.
On Monday, April 8, in Ukraine without precipitation, wind of variable directions, 3-8 m/s.
The temperature at night 5-10° warm, during the day 17-22°.
In Kiev without precipitation, wind of variable directions, 3-5 m/s. The temperature at night is 8-10° of heat, during the day 20-22°.
2022-2024 goods trade balance forecast (USD bln)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
