The danger of buying medicines outside pharmacies

The hot phase of the war determines the situation with access to medicines in Ukraine. Currently, 80% of pharmacies have resumed their work, a significant proportion of open pharmacies are located in the western part of the country, while in the east this percentage remains quite low. Therefore, the number of instances of buying medicines outside pharmacies is increasing.

Darnitsa Pharmaceutical Company reminds about the risks that arise in such cases. Medicines purchased from private individuals, through Internet ads, can be counterfeit. The State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs control continues working on the detection of counterfeit medicines under the state of martial law. Only since the beginning of April this year, there have been a number of reports on the detection of counterfeit and substandard medicines. The use of counterfeit medicines is always dangerous, because the use of counterfeits instead of medicines can lead to complications of major diseases, allergic reactions, the development of resistance to antibiotics and other undesirable consequences.

Medicines should be bought in legal distribution networks - pharmacies. The pharmacy must have a license for the retail sale of medicines. The address of the pharmacy must be indicated in the license and must coincide with the actual one. In case of doubt about the quality of the medicinal product, one should request a quality certificate issued by the manufacturer (for imported medicinal products, by the importer).

According to the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control, the following steps will help recognizing counterfeit medicines:

• carefully check the package for integrity, absence of spelling or grammatical errors;
• check the manufacturing date, expiration date, batch number and make sure that all dates and data on the outer packaging (if any) correspond to the data on the inner packaging and instructions for medical use that is allowed for circulation in Ukraine;
• check the availability of the registration number in Ukraine, which has the format UA/00000/00/00, if there is no such number on the package, that is not a medicine;
• make sure that the medicine looks right (according to the instructions for medical use), is not discolored, does not have an unusual smell, dirt, etc.;
• if there are protective seals, holograms, they must be intact and without signs of falsification;
• if you suspect that the medicine is not working properly or that you may have an adverse reaction, consult your doctor as soon as possible.

The state register of medicines or Liky Control application will help to check medicines.

The increased demand and purchasing of medicines to have them in store may provoke a shortage of certain medicines in some regions. However, there is currently no shortage of medicines in Ukraine. Some pharmaceutical enterprises in Ukraine continue operating, or have resumed production, at least in part, and are working to meet the needs of the healthcare system. In particular, the domestic pharmaceutical company Darnitsa, the largest manufacturer of medicines in Ukraine,* has been working since the first days of the war to provide the population with access to medicines.

It will be recalled that in March, the Ministry of Health urged Ukrainians to buy medicines, paying attention to their active ingredient and availability in pharmacies, rather than the trade name or brand of the medicine. The report states that all medicines of both domestic and foreign production are subject to state registration, so all medicines are of the same quality.

The quality of production of domestic companies, in particular Darnitsa, is confirmed by international GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certificates, which is the main document that certifies pharmaceutical production worldwide.

Background information

Darnitsa Pharmaceutical Company PrJSC was founded in 1930. Since 1998, Darnitsa has been the leader in Ukraine in terms of production of medicines by volume. Strategic areas of the portfolio development include cardiology, neurology, pain management.

*According to Proxima Research 2021-2022