Supplying Medicines and Supplements to Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda buys most of its public-sector medicines through the OECS Pool Procurement Service (PPS), which pools demand from nine Eastern Caribbean members and has run since 1986. For a supplier, getting prequalified with the PPS is the main door to public supply.

Rules are tightening. In December 2025 the Pharmacy Council proposed 2026 legislation to require that every pharmaceutical import is authorised by a WHO-listed regulator such as the EMA, Health Canada or the FDA, replacing gaps in the 1995 law.

Antigua and Barbuda at a glance

How to supply medicines to Antigua and Barbuda

1. Line up approvals from a WHO-listed regulator. Government buyers already prefer products authorised by WHO-listed regulators, and the Pharmacy Council wants to make this mandatory for all imports.
2. Prepare your documents. Have a CTD dossier, a CoPP and the plant's GMP evidence ready for the PPS prequalification and any CRS review.
3. Get prequalified with the OECS PPS. Public supply runs through the OECS Pool Procurement Service: a restricted international tender on the OECS e-tendering system, open to prequalified suppliers, leading to 18-month framework agreements with delivery straight to each member state.
4. Use the Caribbean Regulatory System. If your product is WHO-prequalified or approved by a stringent regulator, a CRS recommendation from CARPHA is recognised across CARICOM, and member states make the final decision.

For a medicine not available locally, ask a licensed pharmacy or importer whether a special import is possible for your case. See named-patient and special import and government tender supply.

Supplements

Confirm with the Pharmacy Council and the Ministry of Health how your supplement will be classified before you ship, and keep health claims off the pack. We help brands get supplements made under their own label by GMP-certified contract manufacturers: see nutraceutical private label.

What people in Antigua and Barbuda search for

Semrush does not track Google searches in the Eastern Caribbean, so we use Google Keyword Planner ranges for the six OECS countries combined (October 2026). Across them, “pharmacy” gets between 1,000 and 10,000 searches a month, and vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin B12, collagen, magnesium, omega 3, multivitamins, protein powder and sea moss each between 100 and 1,000.

Medicines are searched by their generic names: “paracetamol”, “amoxicillin”, “metformin”, “amlodipine”, “losartan”, “insulin”, “ibuprofen” and “cetirizine” each get between 100 and 1,000 searches a month across the six countries combined (Google Keyword Planner).

How importers and pharmacies in Antigua and Barbuda search

“pharmacy in antigua” gets between 100 and 1,000 searches a month (Google Keyword Planner). Trade phrases such as “pharmaceutical distributors” or “oecs pps” register only weakly, so most buyers here are reached through the PPS tender and direct contact rather than search.

Originator brands searched by name include Panadol (paracetamol). Brand names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the medicine.

Supplements we can help you make

Medicines searched across the Eastern Caribbean include paracetamol, amoxicillin and metformin. Some examples we list:

Documents to ask your supplier for

• A Certificate of a Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) in WHO format.
• The plant's GMP evidence, such as a WHO-GMP, EU-GMP or PIC/S certificate, plus any inspection by your regulator.
• The registration dossier (CTD or ACTD), with bioequivalence data for generics where required.
• Stability data for hot climates.
• A Certificate of Analysis for every batch.

Not sure a supplier is genuine? Read how to verify a pharmaceutical supplier. For the neighbouring markets, see our Latin America and Caribbean import guide.

Frequently asked questions