Pharmaceutical Law
Legal support for pharmacies and other operators in the medicines and health products sector, and for patients on matters relating to medicines.
Matters the office handles
Pharmacies
Licensing, ownership and transfer of pharmacies, technical management and operation.
Medicines regulation
Procedures before INFARMED, marketing authorisations and the obligations of authorisation holders.
Distribution and supply
Wholesale distribution, good practice and supply contracts along the medicines supply chain.
Advertising and information
Rules on advertising and information about medicines and health products, to the public and to professionals.
Inspections and administrative offences
Support during inspections and defence in administrative offence proceedings in the pharmaceutical sector.
Pharmacies and their owners, laboratories, distributors, medical device and health product companies, and patients.
Handled by the lawyers of ME&JBA
Each matter is personally handled by a lawyer of the office assigned to it, from the initial analysis of the facts and documents to its conclusion. Before work begins, the client is informed of the scope of the work, the expected steps and the criteria for setting fees.
Common questions on Pharmaceutical Law
Who can own a pharmacy?
Decree-Law no. 307/2007 of 31 August, as amended, which lays down the legal regime for community pharmacies, allows them to be owned by individuals or commercial companies, regardless of whether their owners or shareholders are pharmacists, and also allows ownership by social economy entities, under the terms provided by law. There are, however, limits: no individual or commercial company may simultaneously hold or exercise, directly or indirectly, the ownership, operation or management of more than four pharmacies. There are also incompatibilities, in particular for health professionals who prescribe medicines, pharmaceutical industry companies, wholesale distributors of medicines and private healthcare providers. The technical management of each pharmacy must be ensured at all times by a pharmacist acting as technical director.
Can medicines be advertised?
As a rule, the Medicines Statute (Decree-Law no. 176/2006 of 30 August) only allows advertising to the general public of medicines that are not subject to medical prescription and are not reimbursed by the National Health Service (SNS). Advertising to the public of medicines containing narcotic or psychotropic substances is also prohibited, without prejudice to vaccination campaigns and campaigns promoting generic medicines approved by INFARMED. Prescription-only medicines may only be advertised to health professionals and wholesale distributors, subject to specific requirements on the content of the information (Articles 150 et seq. of the Medicines Statute).
Which authority supervises the medicines sector?
INFARMED, the National Authority of Medicines and Health Products, which licenses, authorises and supervises activities in the sector and may bring administrative offence proceedings. Decisions imposing fines can be challenged in court, within the legal deadlines.
General information, based on the legislation in force on 17.10.2026. Its application to a specific situation depends on the facts and requires its own legal analysis.