The order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated July 24, 2015 No. 467 established a working group on improving the legislation on the advertising of medicinal products.

Oleksandra Pavlenko, the First Deputy Minister of Health, was appointed as the head of the working group. Deputy Chairman of the working group — Viktor Shafranskyi, Deputy Minister, and Taras Lyaskovskyi, Acting. Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Activity and Quality of Pharmaceutical Products of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

The working group also included People’s Deputy of Ukraine Viktoriya Ptashnyk, specialists from the National Health Service of Ukraine, the State Medical Service of Ukraine, representatives of public organizations and specialized associations (with consent). Representatives of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, the State Inspectorate of Ukraine for the Protection of Consumer Rights, and the Ukrainian Institute of Intellectual Property (Ukrpatent) were also involved in the working group’s activities with their consent. It is planned that the group will also include representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.

“It is necessary to clearly define our priorities and goals, then it will be possible to say what measures to control the advertising of medicinal products our country needs. In European countries, this issue is regulated quite differently, but it is necessary to understand that, first of all, clear rules of information policy in the field of circulation of medicinal products must appear,” stressed First Deputy Minister of Health Oleksandra Pavlenko.

As reported earlier, the norms of paragraphs 4.4 of Chapter XVI “Reform of the Health Care System” of the Coalition Agreement provides for banning the advertising of medicinal products. The leading associations in the media industry, pharmaceutical manufacturers and a number of medical associations expressed their negative attitude towards the possible consequences of the introduction of such a norm.

Published based on the materials of the press service of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine