The Government is planning to establish a reference pricing system for medicines to cure cardiovascular disease, diabetes type II and asthma, thereby reducing prices for medicinal products in Ukraine from 1 January 2017. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said on opening a Government meeting on Wednesday.

"Today, the Ministry of Health, the acting Minister is going to present a Government's decision on the establishment of a reference pricing system. That is, we take five countries, such as Poland, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and will base on the active ingredient, instead of commercial title of the medicinal drug, and fix basing on the active substance price in those five countries the average price, as in Ukraine the cost of these drugs, of these components cannot exceed the average that we have calculated analysing this issue in those countries. I think everyone agrees that this is absolutely fair and should lead to lower prices for medicines," explained Volodymyr Groysman.

Reference pricing system will be introduced only for the medicines to cure three categories of diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes type II and bronchial asthma.

The Government intends to fix price instead of drug titles, on active substance in each particular medicine, told Volodymyr Groysman. "This means that tens and hundreds thousands pharmaceuticals will be regulated basing on such fair price," he said.

"I believe that from 1 January we will see the process of reduction of prices for drugs in the aforesaid categories," said the Prime Minister.

Volodymyr Groysman reminded that among initial decisions of the Government having been adopted with the support of the Verkhovna Rada had been deregulation in the market of high quality medicines in Ukraine.

"The next step is we should create conditions to ensure the process of fair forming of drug prices. It is impossible that one and the same drug, for example, in Poland costs around UAH 50 and in Ukraine - UAH 150," said the Head of Government.

Volodymyr Groysman noted that in this sector those who had been intermediaries in the pharmaceutical market between producers and consumers had used to line their pockets for decades.

The Prime Minister also announced that in the draft Budget for 2017 the Government provided half a billion hryvnyas to reimburse for drugs – to compensate for the cost of medicines for treatment of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes type 2 and bronchial asthma in out-patient treatment.

"These are only first steps among those we must make in a comprehensive reform of the healthcare system," said the Prime Minister.