Dr. Volodymyr Redko, executive director of Ukraine’s Association of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (APRaD), which gathers together 15 international R&D-driven companies, provides insights into the perspective of international innovators vis-à-vis the numerous regulatory and structural reforms that are set to transform the country’s health system, while highlighting the importance that innovation should hold in the building of a heightened health capacity in the country.
When you became the executive director of APRaD in October 2014, the country’s economy was facing strong headwinds and Ukraine’s real GDP actually fell by 6.6 percent this year, according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. How did this specific context impact APRaD’s activities and the operations of its members?
"In 2016, indicators clearly showed that Ukraine’s economy was back to growth for the first time since 2013 while purchasing power has indeed been increasing since then."
