With this document, the Association of Representatives of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers AIPM Ukraine (hereinafter – the Association) expresses the vision of its member companies regarding the state of competition in the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine.

Recently, the Association has observed new disappointing trends in the use of non-competitive means of struggle in Ukraine. Yes, we receive information on the involvement of natural persons in the struggle between the players of the pharmaceutical market and the use of their rights as consumers. We have become aware of an attempt to judicially annul the decision on the state registration of a medicinal product, which is being done covertly by a competitor, through the initiation of such a lawsuit on behalf of a natural person on formal grounds, using his social status, which provides benefits regarding the payment of a court fee.

Based on the received information, in this situation there is a threat of creating a relatively new judicial practice, according to which an individual appeals the decision on the state registration of a medicinal product solely for possible formal reasons.

The initiation of the issue of judicial cancellation of the state registration of a medicinal product for formal reasons not by a specialist, but by a person who is not familiar with the peculiarities of registration procedures in Ukraine, in the absence of a real violation of her interests (including any damage), indicates the artificial creation of such a case on the basis of competition , which, in this case, in our opinion, does not meet the criteria of transparency and ethical competition in the industry. At the same time, confirmation of the absence of a connection between the basis of the lawsuit and the safety of individual consumption of the medicinal product is, among other things, the failure to use the usual and logical means of protecting the rights of consumers of medicinal products – appeals to the manufacturer of such a drug or relevant regulatory bodies, primarily the State Service of Ukraine for medicinal products and drug control, or other authorized bodies for the protection of consumer rights.

A comprehensive analysis of such information indicates the possibility of further use of this relatively new mechanism for the legal practice of Ukraine in unfair competition. In our opinion, the use of natural persons – consumers in the hidden conduct of unfair competition is a threat to the entire pharmaceutical market of Ukraine and contradicts the values ​​and principles of activity of both the Association and the pharmaceutical community of Ukraine in general, which causes great concern.

We emphasize that one of the main goals of the Association’s activity is to promote the establishment of high ethical standards of conducting business in Ukraine and to ensure a truly fair competitive environment. The Association has established the most up-to-date requirements to ensure the transparency and ethics of the activities of the pharmaceutical companies that are members of the Association, in particular through the Code of Proper Conduct of Business and Ethical Promotion of Pharmaceutical Products of AIPM Ukraine [1] , which is mandatory for the members of the Association, which meets the latest global standards in this field.

Taking into account the expressed position and situation, the Association sent an appeal to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine with a statement of specific facts of violation of the rules of fair competition, which became the basis for this position.

The Association of Representatives of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers AIPM Ukraine expresses its categorical position regarding the inadmissibility of conducting a competitive struggle through the use of consumer rights.

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