The future of pharmacy is in safe hands:
NUPh students are the winners of the All-Ukrainian competition pHarma Challenge from the company Farmak
From May 1 to 8, 2025, the All-Ukrainian competition of innovative projects in the pharmaceutical industry pHarma Challenge was held at the initiative of the company Farmak. This competition was a unique opportunity for student pharmacists, chemists and biotechnologists to try themselves in a real business environment, going through the full cycle — from an idea to a finished project of a medicinal product — in just 7 days.
The National University of Pharmacy was represented by four teams — 28 students of different courses and specialities. Their curators and scientific mentors were scientists of our university: Inna VLADYMYROVA, Vice-Rector for Research and Development, Professor, Viktoriya GEORGIYANTS, Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Professor, Oleksandr KUKHTENKO, Professor of the Department of Industrial Technology of Drugs and Cosmetics, and Maryna BURYAK, Associate Professor of the Department of Pharmacy Technology of Drugs.
The competition consisted of several stages:
April 11–27 – team registration;
May 1 – start of the competition and receipt of tasks;
May 1–7 – intensive work on projects;
May 5–6 – consultations with specialists of R&D departments;
May 8 – final presentation of business ideas and determination of winners.
The format of the event was online, which allowed to attract teams from leading higher education institutions of Ukraine: NUPh, NUChT, NaUKMA, O. O. Bogomolets National Medical University, BSMU.
Each team, under the guidance of its supervisor, created a concept for an innovative drug focused on the real needs of the Ukrainian and European pharmaceutical markets. In addition to the scientific component, the projects included a marketing justification, a business plan, and a product promotion strategy.
The winner was the NUPh team Rx team, with the slogan ‘It is prescribed: to be the first!’. The winning team was awarded ROZETKA certificates worth UAH 3,000 for each participant. The main achievement was the invaluable experience of teamwork, interaction with industry experts, and development of real products for the pharmaceutical market.
The participation of NUPh students in the pHarma Challenge once again confirmed the high level of professional training, the ability to work in an innovative environment, and the desire to influence the further development of the pharmaceutical sector of the healthcare industry.
Congratulations to the participants and their scientific supervisors on a worthy representation of the University at the pharmaceutical challenge of the year!
