The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine imposed a fine of 4.8 billion hryvnias on the two largest distributors of medicines — BaDM LLC and the Ukrainian-Estonian JV Optima-Pharm, LTD — for collusion and violation of the principles of competition in the pharmaceutical market. About this reported on the AMCU website.
The decision was made based on the results of the case, which began in June 2024. Both companies are accused of coordinating pricing policies and setting identical or nearly identical prices for a number of popular drugs between March 2020 and December 2023.
The list of these drugs includes Spazmalgon, Evkazolin aqua, Bifren, Movinase and Neuroxon. According to the AMCU, prices changed synchronously or with a slight difference in time, which was regarded as a rejection of price competition. Together, these two distributors covered more than 85% of the Ukrainian wholesale market of medicinal products, which enabled them to influence the terms of sale of products.
During the time of the breach, their market share increased by 17%. During the same period, the net profit of the company “BaDM” increased 3.5 times, and “Optima-Pharm” – 11 times compared to 2019. The fine for “BaDM” LLC was set at UAH 2.37 billion, and for “Optima-Pharm, LTD” — UAH 2.43 billion.
According to the results of 2024, both companies were included in the list of the 15 largest companies in Ukraine. Their net income, which amounted to UAH 68-69 billion, exceeded similar indicators of such giants as the metallurgical plant ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (UAH 64.6 billion) and the logistics operator Nova Poshta (UAH 44.8 billion).
