OBJECTIVES: The Ukrainian government has been considering ways to improve the population’s access to medicines by offering limited reimbursement access. For this purpose, the government has expressed its interest in implementing International reference pricing (IRP). The pilot hypertension programme, which introduced a system of IRP for certain hypertension drugs, was introduced in mid-2012. The government is currently looking to revise the pricing and reimbursement mechanism and to expand the list of drugs eligible for reimbursement under the scheme. This study examines the pilot hypertension programme and its impact in terms of achieving its objectives so far. METHODS: Secondary research focused on analysing the current pharmaceutical market and healthcare situation in Ukraine, with a specific focus on the hypertension market. The study then assessed the pricing and reimbursement methodology which is currently in place, the programme’s objectives, and its impact on volume and value of the antihypertensives market. RESULTS: Hypertension was chosen for the pilot programme due to the high prevalence of the condition in the country. While, for the full year 2012, the weighted average cost per package in the antihypertensive drug segment decreased by 1.4% compared to the previous year, the volume of retail sales increased 16.8%. Furthermore, as of January 2013, the prices of these drugs had been falling every month from July till December 2012 compared to the corresponding months of 2011. CONCLUSIONS: With the pilot hypertension programme, the government is hoping to lower drug prices and thereby improve affordability.  Considering that the pilot scheme could be followed by programmes in other therapeutic areas, including a government proposal to include IRP for insulin treatments, the structure and effectiveness of the hypertension programme, and the subsequent amendments to it, could substantially impact the development of any other potential programmes in the future.