STRATEGIC DESIGN OF BUSINESS RESILIENCE UNDER WARTIME CONDITIONS: RELOCATION AND GEOGRAPHICAL REORGANIZATION OF UKRAINIAN PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES

This article examines the condition and geographical transformations of the tangible assets of Ukraine's pharmaceutical sector under wartime conditions, and systematizes the survival and adaptation strategies adopted by firms whose production and logistics resources have been damaged or destroyed.The study aims to assess the nature and scale of these transformations and to develop a typology of managerial responses to war-related risks.Methods: the analysis draws on in-depth interviews with representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, as well as the examination of empirical data, corporate reports, and sectoral analytics.Results: a conceptual "resilience matrix" is proposed and visualized, structured around two critical variables -spatial vulnerability and capital mobility -serving as a tool for strategic planning.Prepared as of January 2026, the paper captures the ongoing structural shifts within the industry.Six core archetypes of pharmaceutical firms' strategic responses to wartime threats are identified, differentiated by the degree of physical asset relocation and the depth of business model transformation: (1) "Fortress" (Immobile Defense) -refusal to relocate due to high asset specificity, coupled with investments in on-site autonomy and physical protection (Pharmaceutical Company "Zdorovya", "Chervona Zirka" Chemical-Pharmaceutical Plant, "Stoma", Viola Pharmaceutical Factory); (2) full relocation (The Phoenix Strategy) -dismantling and moving equipment, personnel, and technologies from combat/occupied areas to safer regions with the restoration of a full production cycle (Microkhim: Rubizhne → Kyiv); № 1(23) 2026 1378 (3) partial/hybrid relocation (Split Operations) -relocating critical lines or establishing a distributed structure in which, for example, R&D and production operate in different locations (Biolik: Kharkiv → Zhytomyr/Kharkiv); (4) virtual relocation (CMO Model) -loss of physical assets while retaining intellectual property, brand equity, and managerial capabilities, followed by a shift to contract manufacturing at external sites (Fitofarm: Bakhmut → CMO network within Ukraine); (5) expansion-duplication (Shadow Site) -building new capacities in safer regions of Ukraine or abroad, integrated into the existing value chain to hedge the core asset (Biopharma: Bila Tserkva + Uzhhorod; Lekhim Group: Kharkiv + Tashkent); and (6) logistics migration (Decentralization) -reconfiguring warehouse network topology by abandoning centralized hubs in favor of a network of regional warehouses in Western Ukraine (BaDM, Optima-Pharm: Kyiv/Dnipro → Lviv/Ivano-Frankivsk/Ternopil).Conclusions.Despite unprecedented physical losses, Ukraine's pharmaceutical industry has demonstrated not only resilience but also features of antifragility: many firms have not merely restored operations, but have evolved into more viable organizational forms.The proposed typology of strategies and the resilience matrix offer a deeper understanding of the determinants of business survival under extreme conditions and can inform the design of crisis-management strategies.