The pharmaceutical market as an object of state economic policy: economic law perspective

The article provides a comprehensive economic law analysis of the pharmaceutical market as an independent object of state economic policy. It substantiates the position that the pharmaceutical market occupies a special place within the system of economic policy objects, as it combines market-based mechanisms of economic activity with an enhanced level of public-law regulation обусловed by the social significance of medicinal products, the need to ensure access to healthcare, and the objectives of public health protection and economic security of the state. The article analyzes the concept of an object of state economic policy from the standpoint of economic law and substantiates the feasibility of considering sectoral markets, including the pharmaceutical market, as independent objects of economic-law influence. It is argued that through the identification of priority markets the state shapes directions of economic development, models of state intervention, and mechanisms for combining competition with regulation. In this regard, the pharmaceutical market is examined as an example of a market with a special legal regime in which economic policy is implemented through a set of regulatory, organizational, institutional, and control instruments. Particular attention is paid to the economic-law characteristics of the pharmaceutical market and its subject composition. The legal status of medicinal product manufacturers, distributors, pharmacy institutions, and healthcare providers is analyzed, as well as the role of the state as a regulator, supervisory authority, and participant in economic relations. It is emphasized that the multi-level subject structure of the pharmaceutical market necessitates the application of differentiated legal mechanisms aimed at ensuring both effective competition and protection of public interests. The article examines the main instruments of state economic policy implementation in the pharmaceutical market, including licensing of economic activities, state registration of medicinal products, pricing mechanisms, public procurement, and antimonopoly control. It is demonstrated that these instruments perform not only regulatory but also system-forming functions, shaping a specific economic-law regime for the functioning of the pharmaceutical market. In conclusion, the article substantiates that the pharmaceutical market should be regarded as a complex and multidimensional object of state economic policy, within which economic-law mechanisms play a decisive role in ensuring stability of economic turnover, accessibility of medicinal products, protection of competition, and realization of public economic interests. The expediency of further development of the economic-law doctrine regarding sectoral markets as objects of state economic policy is emphasized, taking into account national specificities and European standards of legal regulation.