Russian forces destroyed Optima-Pharm’s central warehouse, wiping out 20% of Ukraine’s monthly medicine supply, causing temporary shortages but regional warehouses can stabilize deliveries.
During the latest attack, Russian forces destroyed the warehouse of one of Ukraine’s two largest pharmaceutical distributors, which stored 20% of the country’s monthly medicine supply. The strike could create a risk of drug shortages. It was reported by Economichna Pravda.
The pharmaceutical distribution sector is divided between two major companies, “BaDM” and “Optima-Pharm,” which together control 85% of the market. The central warehouse of the second company was destroyed by Russian forces on the night of October 25. After the attack, the distributor suspended deliveries from pharmaceutical factories to its secondary warehouse in the Kyiv region — located in a suburb.
Industry experts suggest that the destruction of the warehouse may lead to delays in drug deliveries but expect the problem to be resolved quickly. What will happen to the market after the destruction of one of the country’s largest medicine warehouses?
What happened
On the night of October 25, Ukrainian businesses suffered losses that, according to estimates, Russia had never inflicted in a single strike throughout the entire period of the full-scale war.
As a result of the attack on the warehouse and office of the pharmaceutical distributor “Optima-Pharm,” the company, according to its representatives, lost $100 million. The equivalent in the national currency is about UAH 4.2 billion, or 5% of the distributor’s 2024 turnover.
EP reported that the destroyed products accounted for approximately 20% of Ukraine’s monthly medicine supply.
Overall, “Optima-Pharm” has 11 warehouses across the country. Russian forces targeted the central warehouse and office in Kyiv, destroying products, equipment, and databases. Industry sources told EP that the greatest intangible damage from the strike is the destruction of the databases, which contained information on deliveries, logistics routes, and the needs of pharmacy chains that work with the distributor.
The effects of the strike became noticeable on October 27. Delivery issues from “Optima-Pharm” were observed in Kyiv and the surrounding region — the destroyed warehouse served this area. Before the attack, it received medicines from factories twice a week.
One source from a major pharmaceutical manufacturer working with “Optima” noted that on the morning of October 27, the company suspended contracting and transporting medicines to its warehouses in Kyiv and the region. “Optima-Pharm” confirmed this information.
“We plan to resume medicine deliveries this week,” said Igor Hutsal, CEO of “Optima-Pharm.” He noted that the company continues to deliver medicines to capital pharmacies from regional warehouses, but this will not meet 100% of the demand.
What the market says
The attack on the “Optima-Pharm” warehouse on October 25 was the second in the past three months, and at the beginning of the full-scale war, Russian forces destroyed the logistics complexes of “BaDM” in the Kyiv and Poltava regions. Experience from these attacks shows that the pharmaceutical market can quickly adapt to such challenges.
Sources in the sector told EP that the strike may cause a temporary shortage but will not lead to a logistical catastrophe. They believe that the capacities of the regional warehouses of “Optima-Pharm” and “BaDM” will be sufficient to stabilize the situation within a few weeks.
