Retrospective research of the range of combined antihypertensive drugs in Ukraine in 2022 compared to 2015

The prevalence of arterial hypertension is reaching alarming proportions in low- and middle-income countries, including Ukraine. A sufficiently high prevalence of hypertension among people of the working age creates an additional economic burden on the country's budget. Domestic and international clinical guidelines for the treatment of hypertension recommend to prefer using the combinations of drugs from different groups for the treatment of hypertension. Fixed combinations provide additional benefits for patients and healthcare programs, including simpler dosing regimens, improved adherence and better blood pressure control. The aim of this research was to analyze the dynamics of changes in the range of fixed combinations of antihypertensive drugs registered at the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine in 2022 compared to 2015. The object of the research was the data of the State Register of Medicinal Products of Ukraine for 2015 and 2022. The research was conducted using modern methods of analysis, systematization and generalization, mathematical and statistical calculations. According to the results of the retrospective analysis it was established that the total number of registered drugs increased by 28%. During the analyzed period, the assortment of the domestic market was supplemented with new combinations of antihypertensive drugs, which contribute to the qualitative and quantitative expansion of the assortment of combined antihypertensive drugs. In the analyzed period, there was a tendency to increase the share of medicines containing a fixed triple combination of active substances, which have antihypertensive effect, from 5.8% in 2015 to 13.6% of the assortment in 2022. The analysis of the assortment structure of combined antihypertensive drugs made it possible to establish a significant dominance of two groups, namely, angiotensin II receptor blockers in combination with diuretics (almost 27% of the assortment) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor with diuretics (from 36.1% to 20% of the assortment). According to the analysis, the dominance of foreign medicines at the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine was established. In 2015, the share of Ukrainian manufacturers was 26.45%, but the expansion of the range of drugs in the period until 2022 was provided by foreign manufacturing companies, which led to decrease in the share of domestic drugs to 17.3%. The analysis of the domestic market of combined antihypertensive drugs showed significant saturation and increase in the depth of the product range in the period to 2022. Nevertheless, it also made possible to establish the feasibility of creating and developing domestic combined antihypertensive drugs.