On November 15, 2024, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency hosted a press conference on “Social Responsibility Practices in Time of War” dedicated to the specifics of Ukrainian business during the war period. The event brought together representatives of leading companies and experts who shared their own cases, innovative practices and visions of the future.
Olena Plakhova, Director of Reputation Management and Marketing at Nova Poshta, emphasized that business in Ukraine is now performing much more than traditional functions and often takes on some of the responsibilities of the state.
“This happens not because of coercion, but because businesses realize their responsibility to society. It is important to rethink the social contract – we not only expect help from the state, but also actively engage in solving urgent problems. For example, the Humanitarian Mail of Ukraine program, which started in 2014, now supports more than 2,000 recipient foundations by providing free delivery of humanitarian aid,” she said.
“Not only did we quickly organize our work, but we also supported local communities and supplied military checkpoints. Our warehouse in Makariv was destroyed, but we found the resources to resume the supply of medicines. It was a unique experience when we had to negotiate logistics corridors and make decisions quickly. In the future, it is important for us to help the victims and participate in the restoration of medical infrastructure, as this is a key part of our mission,” said Yevheniia Piddubna, Corporate Communications Director, Farmak JSC.
In his turn, Oleksandr Sosis, beneficiary of Alliance Bank, noted that the war has changed the emphasis of the company’s social responsibility.
“Previously, our programs were mainly related to employee support, but now the focus has shifted to external initiatives. One example is our Good Deeds Forum, which has become a platform for supporting volunteers. Many of them have become leaders of public initiatives that are now working even more effectively than some government agencies,” he emphasized.
Sergiy Shevchenko, KSG Agro’s press service representative, spoke about the agricultural holding’s activities in the frontline region.
“We have adapted our operations to the war conditions, increased salaries for our employees and strengthened security at our facilities. One of the key areas was ensuring food safety: we increased the number of pigs at our complex in Kherson region from 500 to 20 thousand. This is an important contribution to the stability of the region and support for local communities,” said the farmer.
Maksym Urakin, Director of Development and Marketing at Interfax-Ukraine and founder of the Experts Club think tank, emphasized the importance of helping civilians and creating communication projects in times of war.
“Our project “Find Your Loved Ones” has become a lifesaver for many civilians who have lost contact with their families due to the war. We have combined the efforts of the media and volunteers to search for missing people and have achieved significant results. We also help volunteer initiatives by organizing press conferences, providing information support and supplying mobile hospitals for civilians,” he said.
According to the expert, the Ukrainian economy is showing significant growth despite the challenges.
“In the first nine months of 2024, Ukraine’s GDP grew by 4.5% year-on-year. The results of the metallurgical sector are particularly impressive, as it increased production of steel and rolled products by 22-28% during this period. The agricultural sector also showed a significant increase due to the early harvest of late crops,” said Maxim Urakin.
According to him, Ukrainian business continues to adapt to the war by moving production to safer regions or even abroad.
“Medium-sized businesses are forced to actively migrate across Ukraine and integrate into the European economy – more than 200 companies have opened production facilities in the EU,” Urakin added.
But there are also negative trends. The expert emphasized the need to improve trust in government institutions, as according to an April survey by Active Group and Experts Club, 57% of citizens do not trust government agencies, and 62% do not trust law enforcement agencies.
The event also featured the presentation of the book Unbreakable Business by Oleksandr Holizdra and Serhiy Shevchenko, which tells unique stories about the resilience of Ukrainian companies during the war period. The publication has become a symbol of the entrepreneurial spirit that inspires us to move towards victory.
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The losses of pharmaceutical company Farmak (Kyiv) due to a fire in a warehouse that occurred at the beginning of the war amounted to about UAH 1.5 billion.
“The warehouses of Farmak, where there were ready-made medicines, raw materials for medicines, primary packaging, were burned to the ground by the occupiers in the first days of the war. According to general estimates, the losses amounted to about UAH 1.5 billion,” the company said on its Facebook page.
The company also said that currently 87 of its employees defend Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or territorial defense.
From December 2021, Farmak and the Charitable Foundation of Zhebrivskykh Family have donated more than UAH 12 million to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, medical institutions and the civilian population, including about UAH 9 million in medicines.
In addition, the company announces an agreement with its foreign partners on humanitarian supplies of critically important medicines, in which Farmak provides logistics. Some of these deliveries worth EUR 1 million have already been unloaded in Ukraine.
“This is only half of the already confirmed deliveries. This is what makes it possible to fill the warehouses of the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health with everything necessary,” the company said.
Farmak said that the company is currently “working on the issue of reducing the shortage of medicines on the Ukrainian market using internal resources.”
The company said that since the beginning of the open armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, Farmak has not made a single shipment of medicines to Russia and the Republic of Belarus. In particular, on February 24, Farmak donated a truck with medicines worth $200,000, which were preparing for shipment to Belarus, to the needs of Chernihiv.
“We cleared it back and handed it over to the needs of the city of Chernihiv, which was one of the first to be attacked by the Russian military,” the company said.
Farmak recalled that its representative office in the Russian Federation was curtailed back in 2014.
Health Minister Viktor Liashko has said that the Ukrainian pharmaceutical company Farmak produces more than 200 types of medicines of the European quality level after a visit to the manufacturer.
“Today I have visited the Farmak company, one of the leaders in the production of pharmaceuticals. The company’s drugs, including insulin, are actively reimbursed within the framework of the Affordable Medicines program … In total, the company produces more than 200 types of drugs, the quality of which corresponds to the European level. The company is constantly developing, investing in new production facilities and building a new innovation center,” Liashko said on his Facebook page.
He also recalled that pharmaceutical independence is necessary more than ever, because the COVID-19 pandemic has once again proved that in the event of emergencies, each country provides its own need with priority.
Liashko noted that the state is interested in the development of long-term and systematic cooperation with Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies: “the development of national pharmaceutical production is one of the goals of the National Economic Strategy for the period until 2030, which the government approved in March 2021.”
The localization of drug production, the launch of its own production of immunobiological drugs, including calendar vaccines are among the potential areas of cooperation between the state and business.
The supervisory board of the pharmaceutical company Farmak (Kyiv) has re-elected Volodymyr Kostiuk as Executive Director.
According to the company’s press service, the relevant decision was made on December 17.
As reported, JSC Farmak (Kyiv) over 2020 received net profit of about UAH 1.138 billion, which is almost 7.8% more than in 2019 (UAH 1.056 billion). Over 2019, Farmak received net profit of UAH 1.056 billion, which almost coincided with the figure for 2018 – UAH 1.05 billion; and over 2018, it increased its net profit by 25.16%.
Farmak is the leader in the pharmaceutical market with a 5.9% share in monetary terms. The company manufactures medicines in all fourteen therapeutic groups. The main directions are anti-cold, endocrine, gastroenterological, cardiovascular, and neurological portfolios. Every year Farmak introduces to the market about 20 new complex-component modern drugs, about 100 drugs are currently in development.
According to the State Register, the ultimate beneficial owner of Farmak is head of the supervisory board, Filya Zhebrovska, who owns 80% of the company’s shares.
The development of R&D and product portfolio will become one of the key aspects of the new development strategy of Farmak pharmaceutical company (Kyiv) until 2028.
The company told Interfax-Ukraine that along with these areas, Farmak will focus on launching the Biotech area, entering the U.S. market and strengthening its positions in the CIS countries.
“The new strategy is based on four key priorities for the development of the enterprise: take the position of an unattainable leader in Ukraine, consolidate and develop success in the CIS countries, become a successful player in the global market, strengthen the employer’s brand and be a company employing the best market specialists,” it said.
Farmak noted that in previous years, investments were made in production facilities.
“Now the company operates a new modern aseptic production, the equipment of six workshops has been updated, a new plant for the production of APIs has been opened in Shostka (Sumy region). The key aspects of the new strategy are the development of R&D and product portfolio, the launch of the Biotech direction, entry into the U.S. market and the strengthening of positions in the CIS countries,” the company said.
It is specified that Farmak will continue its strategy of reinvesting in development up to 90% of the received profit. The overall dynamics demonstrates the annual growth of the company’s financial indicators. Capital investments in 2020 amounted to UAH 1.3 billion, which is 78% more than in 2019. In the first half of 2021, sales revenue shows an increase of 28.3% compared to 2020, capital investments amounted to UAH 756 million, which is 12% more than in the first half of 2020.
In addition, the company stressed the importance of human resource development.
“The transformation of the company into an international one requires the involvement of specialists with unique knowledge, so it is necessary that all employees have a high level of English proficiency. Now it is planned to create international teams and exchange of personnel between the parent company and subsidiaries. This will help synchronize and strengthen the teams, provide new knowledge and will open up new horizons for the implementation of the set goals,” Farmak said.
As specified, in the course of implementing the strategy, Farmak plans to increase the global export of target products.
“Since the beginning of the year, the company has extended its presence in Latin America, opened an office in the UAE and a representative office in Vietnam. In the future, an even larger-scale entry into international markets is planned. One of the most important steps is entering the U.S. market, as well as the localization of business in Uzbekistan, which occupies 50% of the structure of shipments to the CIS countries,” Farmak added.
In addition, it is planned to improve the portfolio through a focus on new drugs.
“Farmak sees the future in the development of modern, high-tech drugs. In 2023, it is planned to open a new R&D center, which will significantly expand the scientific base, will allow developing drugs that are in demand all over the world, for example, developing an oncological portfolio. Special attention will be paid to for the launch of the Biotech direction. In matters of biotechnological medicines Farmak closely cooperates with consultants from Germany, Spain and the United States,” the company stressed.
In addition, the company noted the role of total digitalization of production processes. In particular, in the coming years, a complete transition to electronic quality certificates, electronic research protocols, electronic dossiers, and e-serialization of products is planned.
As reported, in September 2021, Farmak presented the new development strategy “Farmak 2.0: from local to global success.” A detailed plan has been developed until 2028, the main goal of which is transformation from a local leader into an international company.
Farmak is the leader of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market. The product portfolio includes more than 220 complex component modern medicines. Among the main directions are endocrinological, gastroenterological, cardiological, neurological, anti-cold and other drugs.
Farmak pharmaceutical company, one of the largest exporters of pharmaceuticals, has opened an office in the United Arab Emirates, and plans to further strengthen its expansion in the Middle East and localization in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, its press service said on Tuesday. According to the press release, the company’s products have been presented in the Middle East market since 2016.
“While selling drugs through local distributors, the company audited the market potential and analyzed the product niches of the region’s pharmaceuticals. This year, in order to consolidate business management in the Middle East, Farmak’s management decided to open an office in the UAE,” the company said in the press release.
The new headquarters will be headed by Mourad I.Habib, who previously served as CEO of Tabuk Pharmaceuticals and led Sandoz’s Middle East operations for over eight years. According to Habib, who is quoted in the press release, the opening of the office in the UAE is only the first strategic step for Farmak; in the future, the company plans to strengthen its expansion in the region and localization in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The company said that at present, Farmak’s production facilities have successfully passed certification in the UAE government bodies. The company also registered a number of injectable drugs produced by Farmak, which are already being purchased at public and local hospital tenders in the region.
“The Middle East market is not new for us, and we are actively scaling up our presence in this region. We have chosen the United Arab Emirates as the center of activity in the Middle East,” Business Development Director of Farmak Viktor Kostiuk said.
At the same time, he recalled that the UAE has a reputation as a state with a very high level of the national healthcare system and strict regulation of activities related to the production and distribution of medicines. “The fact that Farmak products are represented on this market once again confirms the high level of quality of our products,” Kostiuk said.
Farmak is the leader of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market. The company’s product portfolio includes more than 220 complex-component modern medicines. Among the main directions are endocrinological, gastroenterological, cardiological, neurological, anti-cold and other drugs.
The UAE office is the sixth international office of the company. In 2020, Farmak increased its export deliveries by 40%. Today, the manufacturer’s products are represented in more than 30 countries of the EU, Central and South America, the CIS, the Middle East and Asia.
