Dmytro Shymkiv: The COVID-19 pandemic has proven that a strong pharmaceutical industry strengthens the security of the state

Dmytro Shymkiv

The chairman of the board of directors of Darnitsa Group, Dmytro Shymkiv, is sure that a developed and strong pharmaceutical industry stimulates the country’s economic growth and strengthens the state security. In support of his words, he cited official data. According to them, the contribution of the pharmaceutical industry to the Ukrainian economy is approximately 0.8% of GDP. In retail terms, this percentage rises to 10%. And from the point of view of added value, the pharmaceutical industry is the flagship of economic growth, since each employee creates about 1.2 million.

As for national security, it is worth remembering the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions associated with it. They affected the export of various products and, in particular, pharmaceutical substances from India and China. These countries – the largest exporters of medicines – decided to keep products for the treatment of their citizens. But, thanks to the sufficient reserves of “Darnitsa” and its long-term contracts, Ukraine continued to receive all the necessary pharmaceutical materials. As Shymkiv summarizes, the conclusion from this situation is obvious: the stronger the national pharmaceutical industry, the safer the state.

Commenting on the current situation in the domestic pharmaceutical market, Dmytro Shymkiv noted that 2020 was not an easy year. A sharp, but short-term, increase in drug consumption in March was already replaced in April-May by the largest drop in the last 20 years. The level of demand for drugs was influenced by the postponement of planned operations, a decrease in the number of visits to doctors, as well as a significant decrease in citizens’ incomes. However, by the end of the year the situation stabilized a little. Against this background, there was a positive dynamics in sales of antibiotics, analgesics, antithrombotic and antiviral drugs. In addition, the share of exports increased significantly. Compared to 2019, in 2020 the pharmaceutical company “Darnitsa” increased the percentage of export deliveries by 140%.

The top manager also said that the domestic pharmaceutical industry has a huge potential, which was laid earlier. Over the past 5 years, the industry performance has grown by about 12% annually. But according to analysts, in 2020 the growth was only 4-6%. The Darnitsa Group management is almost sure that by the end of 2021 they will again be able to achieve pre-COVID performance. This will be possible due to entering international markets and the introduction of innovative technologies in the production of medicines.