Russia attacked a pharmaceutical warehouse in Ukraine: 20% of a month's supply of drugs was destroyed

As "Economichna Pravda" reports, as a result of the attack on the night of October 25, the warehouse and office of the distributor "Optima-Pharm", which supplied a significant part of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market, were destroyed. According to the company's estimate, the losses amount to about $100 million (4. 2 billion UAH), which is equal to approximately 5% of its annual turnover. Representatives of "Optima-Pharm" noted that the equipment, databases and stockpiles were destroyed.

The company clarified that damage to databases with logistical and contract information created additional difficulties for operational activities. "We plan to resume the transportation of medicines this week," said Ihor Hutsal, CEO of Optima-Pharm. According to him, currently the delivery of medicines to Kyiv pharmacy chains is carried out from regional warehouses, but this volume is not enough to fully cover the demand.

The Optima-Pharm company controls about 43% of the drug distribution market in Ukraine, and the BaDM company has about the same amount. Both structures, after the seizure of the assets of the third player — the Venta company — provide about 85% of drug supplies in the country. Optima-Pharm's turnover in 2024 amounted to UAH 69. 5 billion. The owner of the company is businessman Andriy Gubskyi.

According to the Antimonopoly Committee, in July 2024 "Optima-Pharm" and "BaDM" were fined for agreeing prices for a total amount of more than UAH 4. 7 billion. On October 24, AMCU confirmed the validity of its decision. Short-term supply difficulties are expected in the pharmaceutical sector. "It will be a difficult two or three weeks, then the situation should stabilize," said Dmytro Babenko, Acting General Director of BaDM.

The company has already recorded an increase in demand for its services in Kyiv and the region. Representatives of the pharmaceutical manufacturer "InterChem" reported that the market has sufficient stocks of products, but their replenishment will take time. "This is a big logistical and financial challenge, but the market will cope with it," said Oleksandr Chumak, the director of the company.

Pharmacy chains expect possible interruptions in the delivery of drugs, especially to the frontline regions. "In as little as a week, we may face problems with the supply of medicines," said the executive director of the "911" chain of pharmacies, Yuliya Klymeniuk. She added that since March 1, pharmacies have limited stock, so they are forced to completely rebuild their logistics chains.

According to Focus, after the destruction of the Optima-Pharm warehouse, the company's competitors became more active. They have increased the volume of shipments and are actively filling pharmacy chains with their own products, trying to occupy the vacated market share.

Oleksandr Mudryi, the founder of the Konex company, emphasized that the main issue now is the rapid reorientation of supplies: "Here, the question is not for distributors, but for manufacturers - what leftovers do they have to supply the market. This is a test for the entire supply system. " According to government interlocutors, the consequences of the attack should not lead to a significant shortage of medicines.

"There may be a temporary shortage of certain drugs, but not a mass shortage," the Cabinet of Ministers reported. Available stocks at the warehouses of "Optima-Pharm" and "BaDM" are estimated at more than UAH 8 billion each. The issue of compensation remains open. According to market representatives, large insurance companies often refuse compensation due to war risks. "BaDM" did not receive insurance payments for similar losses in 2022.

Experts assume that "Optima-Pharm" can agree with the producers on partial write-off of debts, as it happened before. "No one is interested in destabilizing the market, because the consequences can be unpredictable," the government representative said. At the same time, experts do not rule out that the company could have overestimated the loss estimate by $100 million (approximately UAH 4. 2 billion) in order to strengthen its position in challenging the AMCU fine.

It will be recalled that in August, Russian troops already attacked the facilities of the Optima-Pharm company, and at the beginning of the full-scale war, the warehouses of another large distributor, BaDM, in the Kyiv and Poltava regions. Previous experience shows that the pharmaceutical industry is able to quickly adapt to such losses, maintaining the stability of supplies of critical medicines. As Focus reported, the Russian missile destroyed the Optima-Pharm warehouse.