Supplying Medicines and Supplements to Egypt

Egypt is the largest pharmaceutical market in the Middle East and North Africa by population, with a capable regulator: the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) reached WHO maturity level 3 in December 2024.

But one rule decides whether a generic can enter at all: the 'box' system, which limits how many products with the same active ingredient can be registered and allows only one imported product per box. So the first question for any generic is whether a place is free.

Egypt at a glance

How to supply medicines to Egypt

1. Ask about the box. Before anything else, ask the EDA whether the box for your molecule still has a place for an imported product.
2. Appoint your local representative. A company registered with the EDA represents the foreign manufacturer.
3. Register the product. Prepare a CTD dossier, a CoPP and GMP evidence. Prices are set by reference to the lowest price in reference countries.
4. Supply. Private distributors and pharmacies, or the UPA for government buyers. Foreign suppliers may bid in foreign currency.

Unregistered medicines can be imported when no registered equivalent is available or local supply is insufficient. We source such products from manufacturers worldwide through our named-patient service. See named-patient and special import and government tender supply.

Supplements

Food supplements are registered in Egypt before sale, with Arabic labelling. Check the registration route and the claims you can make with your local partner. We help brands get supplements made under their own label by GMP-certified contract manufacturers: see nutraceutical private label.

What people in Egypt search for

Semrush data from October 2026 shows that Egyptians search mostly in Arabic. Vitamin D leads (about 49,500 searches a month for فيتامين د), followed by omega-3, vitamin B12, effervescent salts and multivitamins. Effervescent products are more popular in Egypt than almost anywhere else we studied.

Egyptians search mostly in Arabic script: “فيتامين د” gets about 49,500 searches a month, “فيتامين B12” and “فوار للاملاح” (effervescent salts) about 18,100 each, “فيتامين سي” 14,800 and “بروتين” (protein) 9,900, while “omega 3” (22,200), “probiotics” and “multivitamin” (12,100 each) are usually typed in English (Semrush, October 2026). Medicines are often searched by their English generic name, such as “etoricoxib” (about 4,400 a month), “atorvastatin” (4,000), and “letrozole” and “lornoxicam” (2,900 each).

How importers and distributors in Egypt search

Across the Arabic-speaking markets that Google Keyword Planner combines, Egypt among them, “شركات الادوية” (pharmaceutical companies) sits between 1,000 and 10,000 monthly searches, and “مستودع ادوية” (medicine warehouse), “مصنع ادوية” (medicine factory) and the English “pharmaceutical companies in egypt” between 100 and 1,000. English “private label” searches also appear, at about 140 a month (Semrush, October 2026).

Originator brands searched by name include Zyrtec (cetirizine), Controloc (pantoprazole), Panadol (paracetamol), Celebrex (celecoxib), Ozempic (semaglutide) and Daflon (diosmin and hesperidin). Brand names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the medicine.

Supplements we can help you make

Among medicines, the most searched include pain and inflammation treatments, cholesterol and diabetes medicines, and cancer and mental-health medicines.

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 Middle East and North Africa import guide.

Frequently asked questions