The European pharmaceutical association Medicines for Europe, the Ministry of Health, and the Association of Ukrainian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (AVLU) have signed a memorandum of partnership in the field of critical medicines. The memorandum was signed on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025) in Rome last week.
According to Adrian Van Den Goevaert, CEO of Medicines for Europe, Ukraine’s participation in the Critical Medicines Alliance and its experience in sharing responses, together with regulatory integration into EU systems based on alignment with EU technical and procedural rules, anti-corruption measures, the creation of an independent medicines agency in Ukraine, and mutual recognition of GMP certificates are becoming key priorities for EU-Ukraine pharmaceutical cooperation.
For his part, Anatoliy Reder, CEO of the pharmaceutical company Interchem (Odessa), noted that the memorandum will enable Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies to participate in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for EU countries.
“The memorandum shows that Ukraine is highly developed in the field of pharmaceutical production and is ready to participate in supplying critical medicines to EU countries. We already have certain positions from the list of critical medicines and can very quickly ensure the production of the rest. We can produce APIs in the quantities required by the EU,” he said.
According to Reder, the production of APIs and drugs from the critical list will be convenient for both Ukraine and the EU.
“Ukraine has a highly developed and modern production control system. The requirements for the production of medicines in Ukraine are sometimes higher than in European countries, so we can ensure reliable supplies of high-quality products,” he said.
At the same time, Reder noted that in order to launch a project for the production of critical medicines, European manufacturers need support from European official bodies so that they can include Ukrainian production sites in their dossiers as additional sources of APIs.
Medicines for Europe, MEMORANDUM, Ministry of Health, PARTNERSHIP, PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS
Domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers are negotiating to localize the production of influenza vaccines in Ukraine, the vaccine will be presented on the market in the first quarter of 2022, Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin said in an online interview with medical expert of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine Kateryna Bulavinova.
“Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturers are negotiating to localize the production of influenza vaccines in Ukraine. It will be a tri- or quadrivalent vaccine in monodose syringes. We hope that such a vaccine will be available on the market during the first quarter of 2022,” he said.
Kuzin noted that it is also planned to purchase about 1 million doses of the vaccine.
“According to forecasts, we will have the same influenza epidemic season as last year. Since June we have been working with vaccine manufacturers and the pharmaceutical sector. Negotiations are underway to transfer a free vaccine to vaccinate health workers within the humanitarian aid framework. The amount of vaccine that will be supplied to the country for the pharmacy network will be slightly more than last year – about 1 million doses,” the deputy minister said.
INFLUENZA, PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS, PRODUCTION, VACCINES
Domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers have proposed creating a coordination group under the president of Ukraine with the participation of central executive authorities, industry associations and drug manufacturers to quickly resolve the issues of providing medicines during the spread of coronavirus infection.
Pharmaceutical companies that are members of the Manufacturers of Medications of Ukraine Association said this at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
According to association president Petro Bahriy, the working group, in particular, could quickly resolve the problems associated with the increased demand for certain groups of drugs, a shortage of a number of active pharmaceutical ingredients, interruptions in the logistics of medicines, as well as the issues of patent law.
“Today, the enterprises involved in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients have been stopped, there are problems with the supply of substances, packaging materials, problems with the logistics of medicines, so today it would be very good to form a headquarters and plan our work in the government and the president’s office in such a way as to help domestic manufacturers cope with these challenges and provide the population of Ukraine with medicines,” he said.
The chairperson of the board of PJSC Indar, Liubov Vyshnevska, in turn, noted that the pharmaceutical companies faced a number of problems, including quotas for alcohol without excise taxes.
“Quotas, not even during the epidemic, but in ordinary life, are the Stone Age. Pharmaceutical manufacturers with production licenses should get enough alcohol,” she said.
Indian pharmaceutical companies producing Ayurvedic drugs will visit Ukraine in mid-April. According to the Embassy of India in Ukraine, a delegation of Ayurvedic companies will hold a number of meetings in the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Verkhovna Rada. The embassy also informs that representatives of the Indian Ministry of AYUSH at the seminar “Ayurveda – the science of healing life by nature” held in Kyiv in late March raised the issue of the possibility of bilateral partnership between India and Ukraine to promote trade in Ayurvedic drugs, educational courses and Ayurvedic doctors in Ukraine.
The embassy notes that the activity of manufacturers of Ayurvedic medicines in India is regulated by the law on medicinal and cosmetic means. At present, there are 278,000 Ayurvedic specialists, over 200 Ayurvedic educational institutions and 112 Ayurvedic training institutions in India. Every year, 15,000 people graduate from such institutions. In addition, there are 7,439 private companies that produce Ayurvedic medicines and more than 20 companies that have an international GMP certificate in India.
As reported, India intends to support the development and promotion of traditional Indian medicine around the world. At present, the state integrates the infrastructure of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy) into the Indian health system.
