Decline in demand for Darnitsa's products can be due to failure to lower prices after canceling marketing payments
The decline in demand for the pharmaceutical company Darnitsa's products could be due to the company's failure to lower sales prices after canceling marketing payments to pharmacies, as well as the price increase in late 2024 and early 2025, believes Yulia Klymeniuk, executive director of the Pharmacy 9-1-1 chain.
"We assume that the rapid increase in prices for Darnitsa's products in late 2024 and early 2025, as well as Darnitsa's failure to proportionally reduce selling prices after canceling marketing payments, played a significant role in the decrease in demand for Darnitsa's products. This conclusion can be drawn by analyzing price dynamics, which did not align with market expectations," she told Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on media reports about the pharmaceutical company suspending production due to a conflict with pharmacy chains.
Klymeniuk claims that "the situation faced by Darnitsa is a reflection of fundamental shifts in the pharmaceutical market, and not the result of a targeted conflict or an imaginary conspiracy."
"First, we should acknowledge the current market situation, which includes a general reduction in market volume due to hostilities and a decrease in the number of consumers and pharmacies. Second, in accordance with the instructions of the President of Ukraine, pharmacy chains have committed to providing Ukrainians with more affordable medicines. The cancellation of marketing contracts as of March 1, 2025, and the introduction of the National Price Catalog put all manufacturers in a position where price became the primary factor for pharmacies and patients. One result of this situation is the natural shift in consumer demand toward more affordable drugs," she said.
Klymeniuk noted that "This is exactly the trend we are observing with regard to Citramonum-Darnitsa. Consumers began preferring Citramonum, produced by Lubnypharm, which is more than 10% cheaper."
Klymeniuk also believes that in conditions where Darnitsa has stopped efforts aimed at promoting its products on the market, including advertising, "a drop in demand for products is a logical and expected result."
"We are convinced that the path to a healthy market lies not in public accusations, but in professional dialogue for the main goal - providing Ukrainians with high-quality and affordable medicines," Klymeniuk emphasized.
The publication Ekonomichna Pravda wrote on Wednesday that PrJSC Pharmaceutical Firm Darnitsa (Kyiv) suspended production due to overcrowding of warehouses, which arose due to a conflict with pharmacy chains.