According to Ukraine’s State Inspectorate for the Quality Control of Medicines, a total of 1.2 billion of packages of medicine were sold in Ukraine last year. Out of this amount 2.5 million packages, worth approximately USD 2.5 million (EUR 1.8 million), were substandard, non-registered or counterfeit.
The counterfeit medicine consisted of mostly antibiotics and hormone drugs bearing the marks of well-known drug makers. Almost 50 percent of the fake drugs were obtained through the Internet.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, during the last two years more than 300 cases related to misleading consumers in terms of medicine and foods for special medical purposes have been considered.