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
Pharmacy sales in Ukraine for January-February 2025 rose by 8.3% in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2025—to more than 39.014 billion UAH, while in volume terms they decreased by 7.2%—to nearly 176,866 thousand packages, according to data from a study conducted by Business Credit and reported to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine.”
According to the data, the weighted average price of the pharmacy basket in January-February 2026 was 220.58 UAH per package, which is 16.67% higher than during the same period a year earlier.
At the same time, pharmacy sales of medicines during this period increased by 10.8% in monetary terms—to more than 31.396 billion UAH—and by 2.25% in volume terms compared to the same period in 2025, reaching 138 million packages.
The weighted average retail price of medicines for the first two months of 2026 was 227.5 UAH per package, which is 8.5% higher than in January–February 2025.
At the same time, pharmacy sales of dietary supplements in the first two months of 2026 increased by 12.46% in monetary terms, to nearly 4.6 billion UAH, while in volume terms they decreased by 17.3%, to 14.717 million packages. The weighted average price in this segment rose by 35.9% to 309.64 UAH per unit.
As reported, pharmacy sales in Ukraine for 2025 increased by 14.23% in monetary terms compared to 2024—to more than 220.287 billion UAH, while in volume terms they decreased by 2.25%—to nearly 1.135 million packages. The weighted average price of items in the pharmacy basket at the end of 2025 was 194.68 UAH per package, which is 16.86% higher than a year earlier.
At the same time, pharmacy sales of medicines during this period increased by 12.79% in monetary terms—to nearly 170.318 billion UAH—while in volume terms, they decreased by 0.2% compared to 2024, to 808.546 million packages.
The weighted average retail price of medicines at the end of 2025 was 210.65 UAH per package, which is 13% higher than at the end of 2024.
The pharmaceutical company “Farmak” remains the leader in retail sales in 2025 among domestic companies, with sales of nearly 10.978 billion UAH. The top 5 also included the pharmaceutical company “Darnitsa” (7.473 billion UAH), “Kyiv Vitamin Plant” (KVZ, nearly 6.842 billion UAH), ‘Arterium’ (5.975 billion UAH), and “Pharma Star/Acino” (2.9 billion UAH).
According to the results of a study conducted by Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center in February and presented at the Interfax-Ukraine press center, only 13.1% of respondents reported that they use the state drug reimbursement program, 70.6% do not use it, 16.3% had heard of it but did not use it.
“Low use of the program is often associated not with a lack of need, but with barriers to awareness and access,” said Experts Club founder Maxim Urakin.
“If people ‘have heard of it but have not used it,’ then the patient’s path to compensation remains difficult,” added Alexander Pozniy.
The survey was conducted on the SunFlowerSociology online panel on a representative sample on February 11-12, 2026.
The survey involved 1,000 respondents from a representative sample in all regions of Ukraine, except for the temporarily occupied territories.
ACTIVE GROUP, ALEXANDER POZNIY, EXPERTS CLUB, MAXIM URAKIN, MEDICINES, Reimbursement
The pharmaceutical company PrJSC Darnitsa (Kyiv) has registered a drug in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the treatment and prevention of neuromuscular transmission disorders, including myasthenia gravis, stimulation of the intestines and bladder after surgery, and restoration of muscle activity after anesthesia.
According to a press release from the company, the drug was registered at the end of December.
The registration certificate is valid for five years.
As previously reported, Darnitsa also registered an antifungal drug in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Currently, Darnitsa’s drugs are available in more than 20 countries around the world.
Darnitsa has been operating on the market for over 90 years, is one of the ten largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in Ukraine, and produces 180 brands of drugs in 15 different forms. The strategic areas of portfolio development are cardiology, neurology, and pain management.
The net loss of PJSC “Pharmaceutical Firm ”Darnitsa“” (Kyiv) in January-June 2025 amounted to UAH 479.473 million, while in the same period of 2024, the company received a net profit of UAH 6.528 million. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiary of the company is Gleb Zagoriy.
The Verkhovna Rada, in its first reading, supported a bill that provides for changes to the 2025 state budget and an increase in funding for centralized procurement of medicines by 3.1 billion hryvnia.
According to the head of the parliamentary committee on health, medical care, and medical insurance, Mykhailo Radutsky, on Telegram, the additional funds are needed to purchase medicines for people with orphan diseases, viral hepatitis, HIV infection, tuberculosis, cancer, and other critical conditions.
Earlier it was reported that on July 1, the government supported a proposal to increase funding for the purchase of medicines from the state budget by UAH 3.1 billion, which is 36% of the additional need, while at the end of May, deputies registered in the Verkhovna Rada draft law No. 13308, which provides for the possibility of allocating additional funds for centralized medical purchases in the amount of UAH 8.624 billion from the reserve fund.
In total, the 2025 state budget provides for the allocation of UAH 11.8 billion for the purchase of medicines, while the Ministry of Health estimates that the need is UAH 19.8 billion. Thus, the planned funding covers only 59.4% of the need.
If funding is increased by UAH 3.1 billion, the need will be covered by 75%.
Ukraine plans to jointly manufacture lung and breast cancer drugs with Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, Mykhailo Radutsky, chairman of the parliamentary committee on national health, medical care and medical insurance, said on his Facebook page, as part of the URC-2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference on Thursday.
“For several years, the President’s team has been negotiating with international pharmaceutical companies to localize production in Ukraine. The state enterprise “Medical Procurement of Ukraine” and Roche have signed an investment agreement to create capacities for the production of innovative drugs for lung and breast cancer in Ukraine,” he said.
Radutsky clarified that Roche will supply medicines in bulk, and their packaging, final packaging and labeling will be carried out directly in Ukraine, at the production facilities of the Ministry of Healthcare’s Medsnabzhenie branch.
He noted that in order to launch the project, it is necessary to obtain a GMP license for production and train staff.
Patients will be able to receive the first medicines under the project in 2027.
According to the State Enterprise (MoH), these are currently medicines for the two most common types of cancer – the drug for non-small cell lung cancer atezolizumab (Tecentrik) and pertuzumab + trastuzumab (Fesgo), which is used to treat breast cancer.
