The official gazette Al-Waqa’i Al-Misriya published, in its issue No. 243 of Monday, November 2, 2026, Egyptian Drug Authority Decision No. 612 of 2026 on regulating the registration and trading of medical and biological products in the unified national electronic drug tracking system. The decision takes effect the day after its publication.
The decision requires importers of finished products and licensed local factories to place a unique identification code on every pack or sales unit, according to schedules set by the Authority. It bans trading in products subject to registration in the system if they are not registered in it. It also bars government bodies that receive medicines through the Unified Procurement Authority from handling any product that does not carry the code on every pack or is not registered in the system.
The decision allows the use of non-removable stickers bearing the code instead of direct printing, if they meet the Authority’s specifications and the applicant provides justifications for their use, their duration, and the number of production batches they will cover. It allows the head of the Drug Authority to grant extra time to anyone unable to meet the technical requirements on time, provided the product is on the shortage lists or the extension is necessary to meet local market needs. What was published about the decision did not include compliance dates, which are set by schedules issued by the Authority.
Drug Authority head Ali El-Ghamrawy said in March 2026 that the first phase of the tracking system began with controlled-schedule drugs, and that 500 prescriptions had been dispensed through it by then. The government presents the system as a tool to curb monopoly and drug counterfeiting and tighten oversight of drug trading.
