{"id":865083,"date":"2026-02-02T15:21:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:21:19","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-02-02T15:21:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:21:19","slug":"ukraine-signs-long-awaited-overhaul-of-veterinary-medicines-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/ukraine-signs-long-awaited-overhaul-of-veterinary-medicines-legislation\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine signs long-awaited overhaul of veterinary medicines legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On 20 January 2026, the President of Ukraine signed into law long-anticipated amendments to the Law on Veterinary Medicines and Animal Welfare (Draft Law No. 12285-d).<\/p>\n<p>The reform represents a systemic shift of the Ukrainian veterinary medicines framework towards EU-aligned regulation, broadly reflecting the approach of Regulation (EU) 2019\/6. The new legislation will enter into force on 1 March 2026 with extended transitional periods applying to marketing authorisations, licensing, GxP compliance, pharmacovigilance and advertising.<\/p>\n<p>The following article highlights the key changes introduced by the Law.<\/p>\n<p role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><strong>New marketing authorisation (MA) regime for veterinary medicinal products<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Law revises the procedure for marketing authorisation of veterinary medicinal products, including updated dossier requirements, lifecycle regulation and post-authorisation obligations.<br \/>\nTransitional rule: veterinary medicinal products authorised under the previous legislation may continue to be manufactured, commercialised and used for up to five years, subject to compliance with certain conditions.<\/p>\n<p>This transition period is intended to ensure market continuity while gradually transitioning products to the new regulatory framework. The subordinate legislation on marketing authorisation has not yet been adopted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mandatory localisation of the marketing authorisation holder<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Law requires that the marketing authorisation holder (<strong>MAH<\/strong>) must be a legal entity established in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>As a result:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>All new marketing authorisations issued after 1 March 2026 will require a Ukrainian legal entity to act as the MAH.<\/li>\n<li>Foreign manufacturers must rely on a local subsidiary or an appointed Ukrainian MAH structure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This point is relevant for international animal health companies assessing market entry models ahead of the reform.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Expanded licensing framework across the supply chain<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Only the manufacturing of veterinary medicinal products is subject to licensing. The Law introduces separate mandatory licences for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>manufacturing and imports;<\/li>\n<li>wholesale distribution of veterinary medicines and API; and<\/li>\n<li>retail sale of vet medicines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Key timelines:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Manufacturing and imports, and wholesale licences: mandatory from 1 September 2027.<\/li>\n<li>Retail licences: mandatory from 1 March 2028.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This staggered approach gives market operators additional time to adapt operationally and structurally. The subordinate legislation and licensing conditions have not yet been adopted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>GxP compliance becomes the cornerstone of market access<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Law formally embeds GxP standards as the foundation of regulatory compliance across the veterinary medicines lifecycle:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>GCP<\/strong> \u2013 for clinical trials;<\/li>\n<li><strong>GMP<\/strong> \u2013 for manufacturers and importers;<\/li>\n<li><strong>GDP<\/strong> \u2013 for wholesalers and API suppliers;<\/li>\n<li><strong>GLP<\/strong> \u2013 for laboratories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>GMP compliance and certification will become a central prerequisite for market entry. The subordinate legislation on GxP has not yet been adopted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mandatory laboratory control of imported veterinary medicines<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As a general rule, laboratory quality control of imported veterinary medicinal products will be mandatory.<\/p>\n<p>There is a temporary exemption. Until <strong>1 July 2027<\/strong>, imports may be exempt where the relevant batches have already undergone laboratory control in PIC\/S member countries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Introduction of a pharmacovigilance system<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Law establishes a statutory pharmacovigilance framework for veterinary medicinal products, which will become fully applicable from 1 July 2027.<\/p>\n<p>MAHs and other market operators will be required to implement systems for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>monitoring adverse reactions;<\/li>\n<li>reporting safety data; and<\/li>\n<li>cooperating with the competent authorities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Regulatory data exclusivity for veterinary medicines<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For the first time, Ukrainian law introduces regulatory data exclusivity for veterinary medicinal products.<\/p>\n<p>The duration and scope of protection will depend on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the type of product; and<\/li>\n<li>the target animal species.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is a strategically important development for innovative and originator products.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Introduction of an annual fee for the maintenance of marketing authorisations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>MAHs will be required to pay an annual fee equal to 0.5 times the minimum monthly wage (currently around EUR 86) for each valid marketing authorisation.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, there is no clarity on whether the fee applies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>only to new veterinary medicines registered under the Law;<\/li>\n<li>or also to all previously issued marketing authorisations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Definition of falsified veterinary medicinal products aligned with EU law<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Law introduces a definition of falsified veterinary medicinal products, closely aligned with EU legislation.<\/p>\n<p>There is, however, a caveat. Unlike human medicines, Ukrainian criminal law does not currently provide a dedicated offence for falsification or commercialisation of falsified veterinary medicinal products. In practice, enforcement remains limited primarily to trademark-related offences, pending further criminal-law amendments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>New statutory framework for advertising of veterinary medicinal products<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A new Article 21-1 is added to the Law of Ukraine on Advertising, establishing a dedicated legal regime for advertising of veterinary medicinal products and medicated feed.<\/p>\n<p>In brief, the new rules provide that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>advertising is permitted only after marketing authorisation of the product (where required);<\/li>\n<li>advertising must be accurate, non-misleading and consistent with the product\u2019s summary of characteristics;<\/li>\n<li>advertising of prescription-only veterinary medicines is generally prohibited, except where addressed exclusively to veterinary professionals and\/or market operators;<\/li>\n<li>advertising of antimicrobial veterinary medicinal products via samples is prohibited;<\/li>\n<li>advertising of autogenous immunological veterinary medicines is fully prohibited;<\/li>\n<li>distribution of samples is strictly limited and subject to detailed conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While the advertising framework mirrors concepts familiar from human medicines regulation, it introduces new compliance risks for animal health companies active in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What this means for global market players<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The reform requires early strategic planning. In particular, international companies should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>reassess the MAH and localisation structures;<\/li>\n<li>map licensing gaps across supply chains, ensure proper contractual framework between MAHs, manufacturers and importers;<\/li>\n<li>prepare for GMP\/GDP alignment and inspections, and compliance with local pharmacovigilance requirements;<\/li>\n<li>review legacy portfolios under the five-year transition;<\/li>\n<li>update promotional and compliance policies for veterinary medicines.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For more information and assistance across the full spectrum of regulatory, licensing and compliance matters in Ukraine, contact your CMS client partner or the CMS experts: <a class=\" external-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cms.law\/en\/ukr\/people\/borys-danevych\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" aria-describedby=\"audioeye_new_window_message\">Borys Danevych<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-709423 \" src=\"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CMS_4_02022026-1024x167.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"114\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 20 January 2026, the President of Ukraine signed into law long-anticipated amendments to the Law on Veterinary Medicines and Animal Welfare (Draft Law No. 12285-d). The reform represents a systemic shift of the Ukrainian veterinary medicines framework towards EU-aligned regulation, broadly reflecting the approach of Regulation (EU) 2019\/6. The new legislation will enter into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4489,"featured_media":861165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15576,15575],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-865083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-articles-en","category-news-and-articles-from-companies-en","company-16421"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.eba.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}