Morocco’s Competition Council has reopened a sensitive debate over pharmacy ownership, recommending a regulated easing of restrictions that would allow outside investors and pharmacy chains, a proposal that has triggered immediate pushback from pharmacist unions already mobilized against a parallel reform of drug pricing rules.
The recommendation was presented Monday as part of the council’s consultative opinion on a draft decree governing the pricing of medicines, which was shared with sector stakeholders including unions, professional councils, and distributors, according to reporting by Hespres.
The council argued that Morocco’s current ownership model, dominated by individually owned pharmacies, limits access to financing and makes it difficult for newly graduated pharmacists to establish themselves.
Under the proposal, private investors would be allowed to take majority or minority stakes in pharmacies, while regulated pharmacy chains would be authorized in order to achieve economies of scale.
The council framed the move as a way to modernize the retail segment of the pharmaceutical market while maintaining professional oversight of dispensing.
Khalid Zouine, head of the National Council of the National Union of Pharmacists of Morocco, said the proposal contradicts Law No. 17-04, the Code of Medicines and Pharmacy, which places responsibility for pharmacy management and drug dispensing squarely on licensed pharmacists.
He said union opposition led to the postponement of the publication of the Competition Council’s opinion, which is now expected to be revisited later this month.
Morocco currently regulates medicine prices through Decree No. 2-13-852, adopted in 2013, which defines the modalities for fixing public selling prices for locally produced and imported drugs.
The draft decree under review aims to update that framework, with authorities publicly stating an objective of reducing prices and improving access.
Unions warn that further compressing margins while opening the door to chains and outside capital risks accelerating the closure of independent pharmacies, particularly in smaller cities and rural areas.
They argue that such a model would concentrate market power and undermine professional independence, while exposing pharmacists to pressure from investors.
The Competition Council has countered that ownership restrictions themselves contribute to structural weaknesses, including limited access to bank financing and slow network modernization.
Its recommendations also include protective measures, such as keeping pharmacists legally responsible for operations, creating public-private guarantee funds to support pharmacy creation in underserved areas, and introducing pre-financing tools linked to reimbursements under compulsory health insurance.
Those financing proposals intersect with another long-running issue: cash flow constraints linked to reimbursements under Morocco’s compulsory health insurance system, AMO, which are governed by statutory timelines overseen by CNSS and monitored in institutional assessments by bodies such as the Economic, Social and Environmental Council.
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