Apteka 9-1-1 suspends work of MPPs in Kharkiv, Kherson regions
The Apteka 9-1-1 pharmacy chain has suspended the work of mobile pharmacy points (MPPs) in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions due to negative changes in legislation for the market. The chain told the Interfax-Ukraine agency about its decision and reasons.
"The latest legislative innovations in the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine, in particular, increased regulation and the cancellation of marketing agreements, have had an extremely negative impact on financial revenues from stationary pharmacies, with which the Apteka 9-1-1 network financed MPPs. We are forced to put two MPPs "on hold": on July 15, a mobile pharmacy in the Kherson region suspended its work and on July 29 - in Kharkiv region," the executive director of the chain Yulia Klymenyuk said.
She noted that in the Kharkiv region, one MPP is still operating, which will serve 92 villages, so it will visit each settlement no more than once every 17 days. At the same time, its work may be stopped due to a critical lack of funding.
Klymenyuk noted that maintaining one MPP costs the network approximately UAH 100,000 per month, but sales results do not cover these costs.
"The cost of operating MPPs is extremely high due to the requirement to use special refrigerators and equipment for storing drugs, as well as Starlink, a generator and sometimes electronic warfare. The average cost of such a car with equipment is UAH 1.45 million," she said.
In the Kherson region, residents of 52 were left without access to medicines.
Apteka 9-1-1 launched mobile pharmacy points as a social project in January 2024 in Kharkiv, Kherson and Sumy regions. MPPs helped solve the problem of accessibility of medicines for residents of small settlements where there are no stationary pharmacies. Mobile pharmacies have become especially popular in the front-line territories of the south and east of Ukraine, where the population has a significant demand for treatment, suffering from shelling every day.