Supplying Medicines and Supplements to Colombia

Colombia is one of Latin America's larger pharmaceutical markets, with a well-known route for unregistered medicines and a regulator, INVIMA, that has recently adopted a reliance resolution.

Two practical points: Colombian registrations no longer expire, and INVIMA accepts GMP certificates only from a listed set of regulators, so a plant without one of those will generally need INVIMA's own certification.

Colombia at a glance

How to supply medicines to Colombia

1. Name your importer. The importer is named on the registration and needs the manufacturer's written authorisation and a CoPP from the country of origin.
2. Check the plant's GMP certificate. If the plant's GMP certificate is not from an accepted regulator, plan for INVIMA certification.
3. Register the product. Plan for a longer wait than the legal timeline. A reliance resolution adopted in August 2026 may help; its technical guide is still to come.
4. Supply. Private distributors and pharmacy chains, or public tenders, which foreign bidders can join without a Colombian domicile.

The Vital No Disponible route covers medicines that aren't marketed or are in short supply in Colombia, with no substitute available. A patient or entity can apply for one patient; for several patients, an authorised distributor applies. See named-patient and special import and government tender supply.

Supplements

Dietary supplements (suplementos dietarios) need an INVIMA sanitary registration before sale, with Spanish labelling. We help brands get supplements made under their own label by GMP-certified contract manufacturers: see nutraceutical private label.

What people in Colombia search for

Semrush data from October 2026 shows that Colombians search most for creatine and ashwagandha (about 74,000 searches a month each), followed by omega-3, vitamin D, B12, vitamin C, probiotics and collagen. Among medicines, cephalexin, etoricoxib, meloxicam and prednisone lead.

Colombians search in Spanish: “creatina” and “ashwagandha” get about 74,000 searches a month each, “omega 3” 49,500, “vitamina D” and “creatina monohidratada” 40,500 each, and “probióticos” 33,100 (Semrush, October 2026). Medicines are typed by their Spanish generic name, led by “cefalexina” (about 88,820 a month), “prednisona” (71,280), “pregabalina” (62,080) and “cetirizina” (53,700).

How importers and distributors in Colombia search

Trade buyers use “distribuidora de medicamentos” and “laboratorio farmacéutico”, each between 1,000 and 10,000 monthly searches across ten Spanish-speaking markets combined (Google Keyword Planner), plus local forms such as “droguerías en Colombia” and “laboratorios farmacéuticos en Colombia” (100 to 1,000). Contract manufacturing is searched as “maquila de medicamentos” and “laboratorios de maquila en Colombia” (about 30 a month each, Semrush).

Supplements we can help you make

The most searched medicines include cephalexin (cefalexina, about 88,800 a month), etoricoxib, meloxicam, prednisone, pregabalin and cetirizine.

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