Supplying Medicines and Supplements to Uruguay

Uruguay is a stable, well-organised market with clear rules. Imports go through an MSP-licensed company that is the exclusive representative of the foreign registration holder, so choosing that partner is the first big decision.

The GMP certificate decides how smooth registration will be. Uruguay accepts a certificate from an ICH-member regulator or a PAHO regional reference authority. Without one, the Ministry inspects the plant at the applicant's cost, so plants whose regulator isn't on that list should budget for an inspection.

Uruguay at a glance

How to supply medicines to Uruguay

1. Appoint an exclusive representative. An MSP-licensed Uruguayan company represents you and imports the product.
2. Sort out the GMP evidence. A GMP certificate from an ICH-member regulator or PAHO reference authority avoids an inspection. Otherwise plan for an MSP inspection, and keep your GMP evidence ready.
3. Register the product. A CTD dossier with a CoPP. Each review cycle takes up to 120 days, and the registration lasts five years.
4. Supply. Private distributors and pharmacies through your representative, or public purchases through the UCA, where foreign firms can register as state suppliers.

A licensed laboratory can import an unregistered medicine for an urgent need, with a doctor's request and the patient's consent. There's no fee. See named-patient and special import and government tender supply.

Supplements

Dietary supplements (suplementos dietarios) are registered with the Ministry of Public Health, which authorises them for sale. We help brands get supplements made under their own label by GMP-certified contract manufacturers: see nutraceutical private label.

What people in Uruguay search for

Semrush data from October 2026 shows that people in Uruguay search most for creatine (about 9,900 searches a month), vitamin D (8,100), vitamin B12 and whey protein (4,400 each) and collagen (3,600). Among medicines, prednisone, domperidone, sertraline, quetiapine and meloxicam lead.

Uruguayans search in Spanish: “creatina” gets about 9,900 searches a month, “vitamina D” 8,100, “vitamina B12” and “whey protein” 4,400 each, and “colágeno” and “colágeno hidrolizado” 3,600 each (Semrush, October 2026). Medicines are typed by their Spanish generic name, such as “prednisona” (about 4,580 a month), “domperidona” (3,070), “sertralina” (2,900), “quetiapina” (2,640) and “ketoprofeno” (2,290).

How importers and distributors in Uruguay search

Across ten Spanish-speaking markets combined, Uruguay among them, Google Keyword Planner shows “droguería” between 100,000 and 1 million monthly searches and “distribuidora de medicamentos”, “laboratorio farmacéutico” and “registro sanitario de medicamentos” between 1,000 and 10,000. Semrush also picks up “proveedor médico” locally, at about 30 a month.

Originator brands searched by name include Jardiance (empagliflozin), Daflon (diosmin and hesperidin) and Xarelto (rivaroxaban). Brand names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the medicine.

Supplements we can help you make

The most searched medicines include prednisone (prednisona, about 4,600 a month), domperidone, sertraline, quetiapine, meloxicam and diclofenac. 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