Members of the Committee on Public Health, Medical Care and Health Insurance took part in a pharmaceutical workshop held within the framework of the Ukraine Recovery Conference
14 July 2025, 15:05
Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Health, Medical Care and Health Insurance, Mykhailo Radutskyi, and Chair of the Subcommittee on Adaptation of Ukrainian Legislation to EU Law (EU acquis) and Fulfillment of Ukraine’s International Legal Obligations in the Field of European Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, took part in the pharmaceutical workshop held within the framework of the Ukraine Recovery Conference.
Establishment of a national regulatory authority in the pharmaceutical sector, mutual recognition of GDP and GMP certificates, and the involvement of Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturers in supplying EU countries with critical medicines — these were the key topics of discussion at the pharmaceutical workshop held within the Ukraine Recovery Conference, reported Mykhailo Radutskyi.
«These issues became central during the workshop,» he noted. «Ukraine was represented by myself, as Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Health, and by Olha Stefanishyna, Chair of the Subcommittee on European Integration.»
European institutions were represented by:
Rainer Becker, Director for Medical Products and Innovation at the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission (DG SANTE),
Grzegorz Cessak, President of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products of Poland,and Adrian van den Hoven, Director General of Medicines for Europe.
The topic of the workshop was: «Developing Ukraine’s pharmaceutical sector as a guarantee of access to critical medicines for the EU.»
Currently, 125 pharmaceutical manufacturing plants operate in Ukraine, with total production reaching €3.5 billion in 2024, making the pharma sector the 5th largest taxpayer among all industries. Ukrainian manufacturers have established a full production cycle for 37 medicines from the EU’s critical medicines list and are ready to expand this portfolio.
The Verkhovna Rada Committee and the Ministry of Health are actively working on developing a regulatory framework. According to the law initiated by the Committee, the Ukrainian Medical Agency — a national regulatory authority for the pharmaceutical sector — is set to begin operations on 1 January 2027.
This agency will oversee the circulation of medicines, medical devices, and other medical products in compliance with EU standards. Building a robust regulatory system is one of the key requirements for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. The agency will be instrumental in ensuring high quality of medicines, enabling Ukrainian producers to participate more actively in EU procurement of critical medicines.
One of the key issues discussed during the workshop was the mutual recognition of GDP and GMP certificates, which would simplify access to the EU market even before Ukraine becomes a member state. «In my view,» said Mykhailo Radutskyi, «it is far more logical for Europe to procure medicines from Ukraine than from certain Asian countries.»
He called on international partners to invest in Ukrainian-based enterprises, stressing that Ukraine is interested in localized production projects, and that domestic pharmaceutical companies are ready to manufacture raw materials locally.
To support this, the Ukrainian government has established industrial parks—zones with preferential tax regimes—where such production facilities can be set up.
A concrete example of growing cooperation between European and Ukrainian businesses was the memorandum of cooperation signed during URC2025 by five business associations from Ukraine, the EU, and the US. «This step will help us launch strategic joint projects and tap into EU financial instruments,» Mykhailo Radutskyi added.