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During 2024, pharmacy chains continued their active development, opening 977 new pharmacies, which accounts for 43% of all new retail outlets in the country.

Based on the resumed inspections by the State Medical Service, analysis of the situation on the pharmaceutical market and in order to improve it, a number of steps are planned to optimize the procedures of state market supervision. Changes are also planned to the Licensing Conditions in terms of regulating the activities of pharmacies and to the relevant legislation on control over online trade in medical products. ThePharmaMedia was told about these and other innovations by the Head of the State Medical Service, Roman Isayenko.

The largest study in history has confirmed that medical marijuana helps with cancer symptoms and can potentially kill cancer cells themselves.

The first center of the national RECOVERY network, founded by Victor and Olena Pinchuk to assist the Security and Defense Forces, opened in the spring of 2023 in Dnipro. Two years later, the network includes 17 centers that have already helped 24,000 wounded defenders.

Such a system could become an alternative to animal models in research and contribute to the development of new non-opioid painkillers that do not cause addiction.

Anyone who has lived in other countries knows that Ukraine is a country of pharmacies.

The company is the first Ukrainian farm producer to "cut a window to Europe" back in the mid-2000s.

The electronic office of the VLK will open in Ukraine on April 1, 2025. Now the commission's conclusions will be entered electronically into the medical system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Kateryna Chernogorenko announced during the telethon.

Since THC is included in the list of psychotropic substances, its import requires special permission from:

According to the Law of Ukraine “On Medicinal Products” and regulatory acts, there are several options for importing APIs without an import license:

The main such ingredients are cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids.

From March 10, new opportunities for business in the hemp sector are opening up - the declarative principle is now in effect.

Last week, Ukraine allowed the use of certain drugs based on medical cannabis. For whom are they prescribed and whether these drugs can already be purchased in the Donetsk region - read on.

Ukrainian medical clinics operate under constant calls. Administrators handle dozens of calls every day, record appointments, remind patients about appointments, and answer the same questions.

This was announced by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine, Yuri Vitrenko, during the 68th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which is taking place this week in Vienna.

THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is an active pharmaceutical ingredient obtained from the cannabis plant.

For registration, it is necessary to prepare a CEP and submit an application through the electronic office of the "eKonoply" system.
The electronic system "eKonoply" was launched in Ukraine on March 10. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

This year, the first drugs based on medical cannabis will appear in pharmacies in Ukraine. They will be prescribed to patients with certain diseases and will be dispensed exclusively with an electronic prescription from a doctor.

The first pharmacy with cannabis-based medicines has been registered in Ukraine: how to get the finished product
From October 1, a new system for controlling the circulation of medical cannabis (ESORK) began to operate in Ukraine in pharmacies that will dispense cannabis-based medicines / Photo: First Children's Hospital

The prescription and dispensing of cannabis-based medicines are carried out exclusively by electronic prescription.

From October 1, a new system for controlling the circulation of medical cannabis (ESORK) began to operate in pharmacies that will dispense cannabis-based medicines. And the first pharmacy that will dispense such medicines has already been registered.

Deputy Minister of Health Maria Karchevych announced this during a briefing on October 2, Ukrinform reports.

The electronic system went into operation on October 1, and there is already the first registration, the official noted. She also reported that the pharmacy was registered from the city of Cherkasy.

"I hope that more business entities and pharmacies will join both the process and the work with the electronic system, because in accordance with the requirements of the law, each process, type of activity with medical cannabis is recorded in the system no later than the next day," said Karchevych.

Cannabis-based medicines will be available in pharmacies with an electronic prescription from a doctor in the patient's name.

The first medical product based on medical cannabis has been registered in Ukraine. These are oral drops made in Spain.

This is stated in a statement by the Patients of Ukraine charity fund.

Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Health of the Nation Olga Stefanyshyna announced that medicines based on medical cannabis should appear in Ukrainian pharmacies as early as early 2025.

And in the near future, the first drugs based on medical cannabis may appear in Ukrainian pharmacies - oral drops of the Spanish brand, registered by the manufacturer in December. They will be dispensed by prescription and only in manufacturing pharmacies that meet the requirements of the Ministry of Health, of which there are about 30 in Ukraine. The government has determined a list of diseases and conditions for which treatment is possible: these are chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, Tourette syndrome, drug-resistant epilepsy, seizures in children and anorexia due to HIV. Gennady Shabas, head of the Ukrainian Medical Cannabis Association, told TSN about this.

The full-scale war in Ukraine has led to a sharp increase in the number of patients with injuries, traumatic stress, neuropathic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder. They require psychopharmacological approaches for pain management, prevention, and treatment of central nervous system disorders (Parkinson's disease, Tourette's syndrome, etc.).

For the third year in a row since the start of the full-scale war, the State Medical Service has not stopped working to ensure state control of the quality of medicines on the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market, licensing and certification of business entities, and monitoring their compliance with licensing conditions.

Among the drugs are painkillers, sorbents, antacids, human immunoglobulins, antibiotics, anesthetics, antiepileptic drugs, antitussives, antipyretics, drugs used to regulate blood pressure, vitamins and trace elements, the Ministry of Health reported.

As of October 2024, 68% of Ukrainians reported a deterioration in their health compared to the pre-war period. The most common health problems are mental health problems, which affected 46% of people, the WHO reported.

Will all healthcare workers be able to prescribe medications from medical cannabis and under what conditions will the patient be able to receive them, what is the difference between the algorithm for dispensing ready-made and extemporaneous drugs according to prescriptions and what rules must pharmacists follow in this case, — said Iryna Lishtaba, an expert in pharmaceutical issues, head of the business analysis group of strategic projects of the State Enterprise "Electronic Health".

On February 16, 2024, the Law of Ukraine No. 3528-IX came into force, which legalizes the cultivation and circulation of cannabis for use in medical, educational, scientific and scientific-technical activities. This regulatory legal act makes amendments to the main laws regulating the circulation of cannabis in the Law of Ukraine "On Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors" and the List of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors, as well as other legislative acts. It is worth noting that the entry into force of Law No. 3528-IX will take place on August 16, 2024. This period is provided for the development of new regulatory legal acts in this area and bringing into compliance with those already in force. The adoption of the law on the regulation of medical cannabis will significantly improve the provision of quality medical care for patients with oncology, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, etc.