A report from a leading health economist has revealed that Crown Agents saved the Government of Ukraine over 138 million UAH from a budget of over 1 billion UAH allocated to 12 state health programmes.

Under 2016 procurement the median item price decrease was 8% for the medicines and 18% for the medical devices as compared to 2015.

The amount saved is being utilised for procurement, among others, of additional quantities of coronary stents to fulfil 100% of national need, glucometers for diabetic children and pregnant women and medical product for paediatric analysis programme, with 50% savings achieved.

The report highlights savings of up to 30% on some products which have contributed to the cost of many drugs and supplies in Ukraine being lower than elsewhere in the region.

As well as ensuring savings for the Government of Ukraine the report also notes that Crown Agents has continued to procure goods which meet the top levels of international standards. This is the second year that Crown Agents has received recognition for driving down costs following a 38% reduction in the cost of oncology drugs in 2014-2015.

Many factors can affect the cost of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies including exchange rate fluctuations, economies of scale and the quality of goods procured. These factors are shown not to have been instrumental in the savings achieved by Crown Agents and there for the saving was accounted to the high efficiency procurement.

The progress has been achieved through employing the best international standards of public procurement. Crown Agents places a heavy emphasis on due diligence, safeguarding its clients against unethical suppliers and only dealing with those companies that adhere to the same stringent code of ethics as Crown Agents itself.

Read the report in full below.

Fergus Drake, Chief Executive of Crown Agents said:

“We are incredibly proud of this success because it demonstrates how our commitment to the highest standards is able to deliver results that can have a positive impact on the lives of tens of thousands of Ukrainians. We are committed to working with the Government of Ukraine to continue to build the foundations for the country’s continued path to prosperity.”

The author of the research David Lindhard Tordrup said:

“Market conditions are an important factor for the substantial discounts on some medicines observed in Ukraine as compared to neighbouring countries, where the intense competition between suppliers catalysed by Crown Agents drove the prices down”.