Supplying Medicines and Supplements to the UAE

The UAE punches well above its population: it is well regulated, well funded and a trading hub for the wider Gulf and beyond, and many regional distributors are based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The rules changed recently. The Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE) is now the federal regulator for medicines, taking over from the Ministry of Health and Prevention, and a new medical products law has applied since January 2025. If you last registered a product in the UAE a few years ago, check the current requirements before you start.

the UAE at a glance

How to supply medicines to the UAE

1. Choose your local company. Under the 2025 law, a UAE pharmaceutical company acts for the marketing authorisation holder on regulatory, vigilance and quality matters. Agree the roles of your importers and distributor at the same time.
2. Prepare the dossier and documents. A CTD dossier, a Certificate of a Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the country of origin, the plant's GMP evidence and stability data suitable for a hot climate.
3. Register the product. Submit through the local company. Products already approved by stringent regulators are easier to support.
4. Supply. Each batch ships with the manufacturer's Certificate of Analysis. Public tenders need a UAE legal entity to register as a supplier.

Unregistered medicines can be imported for emergencies, when a product is unavailable, and for government hospitals, generally if the product is registered in its country of origin, the US, the EU or the GCC. We handle these requests through our named-patient and special-import service. See named-patient and special import and government tender supply.

Supplements

Supplements can fall under the federal health-products rules or under municipal food rules, depending on the ingredients, the dose and the claims. The first step is to confirm how your product will be classified. Halal status matters for most buyers. We help brands get supplements made under their own label by GMP-certified contract manufacturers: see nutraceutical private label.

What people in the UAE search for

Semrush data from October 2026 shows what people in the UAE search for. The biggest supplement searches are vitamin D, ashwagandha and magnesium glycinate (about 18,100 searches a month each), followed by vitamin C, whey protein and collagen.

In the UAE, supplement searches are mostly typed in English: besides vitamin D, ashwagandha and magnesium glycinate, people search “magnesium” and “collagen” (about 12,100 a month each), “protein powder” and “omega 3” (9,900 each) and “vitamin b12” (8,100), and medicines such as “cetirizine” (5,290) and “pantoprazole” (2,880) (Semrush, October 2026). In Arabic, across the markets Google Keyword Planner combines, the UAE among them, “فيتامين د” sits between 100,000 and 1 million monthly searches and “مكملات غذائية” (food supplements) and “بروتين” (protein) between 10,000 and 100,000.

How importers and distributors in the UAE search

English “private label” gets about 260 searches a month (Semrush, October 2026). In Arabic, “شركات الادوية” (pharmaceutical companies) sits between 1,000 and 10,000 monthly searches, and “مستودع ادوية” (medicine warehouse) and “مصنع ادوية” (medicine factory) between 100 and 1,000, across the combined Arabic-speaking markets (Google Keyword Planner).

Originator brands searched by name include Mounjaro (tirzepatide), Ozempic (semaglutide), Daflon (diosmin and hesperidin), Voltaren (diclofenac), Buscopan (hyoscine butylbromide) and Celebrex (celecoxib). 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 are the GLP-1 weight-loss medicines (tirzepatide and semaglutide) and common treatments for allergies, acidity and blood pressure.

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