The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the cross-border growth of Ukraine’s leading pharmaceutical company Yuria-Pharm. The Bank is lending €15 million to finance the group’s investment plans – primarily in Ukraine and Uzbekistan – which will help to increase its competitiveness at home and strengthen its position in Uzbekistan and Central Asia, guaranteeing its prospects for future growth and expansion.
Under its investment plan for Uzbekistan, Yuria-Pharm will use the EBRD financing to expand its production facilities, install solar panels and improve its energy efficiency.
In Ukraine, the loan will go towards certifying its production with the European Union (EU) Good Manufacturing Practice standard, installing solar panels as well as carrying out critical IT upgrades. The EBRD investment benefits from a financial guarantee provided by the EU under the 2024 Ukraine Investment Framework Guarantee Agreement "Municipal, Infrastructure and Industrial Resilience Guarantee Programme Plus".
Yuria-Pharm will also focus on biopharmaceutical research and development by launching an educational platform, bioGENext. This will be accompanied by vocational education programmes in pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical marketing, accredited in line with industry standards, to tackle labour shortages and war-related workforce challenges. This will offer young people in Ukraine more opportunities for market-relevant training, addressing critical skills gaps ensuing from Russia’s full-scale invasion.
EBRD Managing Director for Industry, Commerce and Agribusiness, Jean-Marc Peterschmitt said: “Strengthening Ukraine’s private sector is one of the key focus areas for the EBRD in wartime, and Yuria-Pharm is exactly the type of client we want to invest in. Despite challenges posed by the ongoing war, it has proven to be resilient and is actively expanding its operations. We are proud to support its growth into other EBRD markets.”
Yuria-Pharm Group is a leading Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturer, selling its products across Ukraine and exporting to more than 40 countries.
The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Ukraine, with cumulative investment of more than €22 billion in over 600 projects. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion there three years ago, the Bank has deployed more than €6 billion in Ukraine’s real economy.
