Morocco’s Competition Council has issued a wide-ranging advisory calling for structural reforms to the country’s pharmaceutical distribution sector, targeting regulatory bottlenecks, territorial inequalities in pharmacy coverage, outdated remuneration models, and insufficient digitalization across the medicine supply chain.
At the heart of the Council’s recommendations is the urgent need to accelerate market authorization procedures. Currently, obtaining a Marketing Authorization (AMM) takes an average of two to three years — well beyond the timeframes stipulated by existing regulations. This backlog delays patient access to therapeutic innovations and slows the introduction of generic and biosimilar medicines, which are key instruments for stimulating price competition and improving treatment affordability.
To address this, the Council recommends streamlining internal review procedures and allowing generic drug manufacturers to submit authorization applications during the final year of clinical data protection for originator products, with actual market entry conditional on the expiry of the regulatory protection period.
On digitalization, the Council identifies it as both a tool for supply chain security and a lever for increased competition. It calls for full digitalization of drug registration and reimbursement processes, serialization compliant with international traceability standards, and the development of digital monitoring platforms capable of detecting supply shortages and tracking price trends — functions to be overseen by the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products.
Addressing the financial fragility of pharmacies and wholesale distributors, the Council proposes a national financial support mechanism comprising a dedicated guarantee fund and adapted financing instruments to strengthen cash flow and reduce exposure to late payment risks.
On territorial equity, new pharmacy establishment criteria are recommended — factoring in catchment area size, population density, and distance to the nearest existing pharmacy — to correct the current imbalance between over-served urban zones and underserved areas. The Council also advocates a mixed remuneration model combining product-linked margins with service-based dispensing fees, better reflecting the pharmacist’s expanding role in patient care pathways.
