Pharmaceutical Market of Ukraine 2025: How War, Regulation, and Staff Shortages Are Reshaping Access to Medicines
After the start of the full-scale war, the pharmaceutical market in Ukraine is experiencing its most stressful period in a decade. What was long considered a stable sector with fierce competition and high consumer trust is now a field defined by crisis, staff shortages, and strict government regulation. The changes are so deep that market participants themselves speak of a new reality where every business calculation starts with the question of safety and survival.
According to analysts, in the first half of 2025, the volume of pharmaceutical sales in monetary terms increased by more than one fifth, but the real number of units sold continues to decrease. This gap is explained by inflation and rising wholesale prices, which force people to buy more cautiously and economically. More than 70% of the final price of medicines is set by the manufacturer, so pharmacies remain hostages of low margins and limited opportunities for discounts.
Pharmacy Map Shrinks: Villages and Frontline Regions at Risk
Data show that the number of pharmacies is decreasing across the country, with the sharpest declines in frontline regions and rural areas. If just a few years ago more than 19,000 pharmacies were operating, now this figure has decreased by a fifth. In some cities, there are significantly fewer pharmacy outlets per capita, and more than 900 settlements have been left without permanent access to medicines. The largest chains “Podorozhnyk”, “9-1-1”, and ANC concentrate over half of the market. However, even these players are forced to close unprofitable points to maintain financial stability in the new realities.
The CEO of the “Podorozhnyk” chain, Taras Kolyada, openly admits:
“Since the beginning of 2025, the chain has already closed 55 of its pharmacies… This is a very high figure even compared to the first year of full-scale war.”
The main reasons are the economy (rising costs for rent, logistics, energy), mobilization (loss of up to a third of staff), population decline, and changes in consumer behavior.
Staffing Crisis: Pharmacist Shortage and Losses for Rural Communities
A separate challenge is the personnel shortage. A significant part of the specialists have gone abroad, some have been mobilized, and the rest have changed their field of activity. In regions with high migration, pharmacy chains can no longer find staff even by raising wages. This is felt most acutely in frontline areas, where working means risking your life.
State Regulation: Reform or Threat to Drug Accessibility?
The year 2025 has been marked by new rules. The ban on manufacturers’ marketing payments a move aimed at reducing the influence of manufacturers on pricing has had an ambiguous effect. Before March, such payments allowed pharmacies to keep a wider assortment and launch promotional discounts, especially on over-the-counter drugs.
Valentyna Yovenko, Corporate Communications Director of “Apteka 9-1-1”, emphasized:
“The trend of pharmacy closures is real and most acutely affects villages and frontline areas… We are forced to optimize the network, closing unprofitable points.”
After the ban on marketing agreements, as confirmed by chains, there have been fewer promotions, and prices have risen. Manufacturers, meanwhile, have not rushed to lower their prices and simply reallocated profits. For the patient, this means more expensive drugs and less choice, and for pharmacies a critical drop in profitability.
Prices and Accessibility: Why There Are Fewer Cheap Medicines and the Social Function of Pharmacies Is at Risk
Despite the introduction of state price regulation for the TOP-100 basic medicines and public statements about price reductions, experts and the market recognize that large-scale cheapening has not occurred. Prices have dropped for some medicines, but for thousands of others, they have increased. According to representatives of the pharmacy business, profitability in the summer fell to minus three percent, and even raising markups did not compensate for the losses from the cancellation of marketing agreements.
Staff shortages, rising costs, and the disappearance of motivation to maintain assortment all this leads networks to abandon low-profit points, making rural, frontline, and small-town residents hostages of the situation.
Government and Market: Search for Balance or Movement Toward Contraction?
The state, acknowledging the problem, introduces new regulations: from July 2025, all licensed pharmacies must sign a contract with the NHSU, which should make it easier to access “state” drugs in villages. However, without targeted support programs, such pharmacies remain unprofitable and are forced to close.
Olena Prudnykova, head of the NGO “Pharmrada”, notes:
“Despite the adoption of such a decision, its full implementation and realization have faced a number of difficulties… The expected role of the state in the issue of drug accessibility has decreased.”
The pharmaceutical market of Ukraine has reached a point of systemic restructuring. Economic turbulence, staff shortages, new rules of the game, and changes in consumer behavior determine the future of the industry. Under these conditions, flexible and large players survive, while small pharmacies are disappearing from the country’s map. Despite good intentions, state policy has not yet created a balance between accessibility and profitability, and patients are forced to pay more and travel kilometers for essential medicines. The market needs new solutions a transparent and fair regulation, financial support for social points, and a real dialogue between government and business. Only this way can we avoid a situation where access to basic medicines becomes another privilege in a country fighting for survival.
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