Morocco’s debate over whether to open pharmacy ownership to outside investors has sharpened after the Competition Council scheduled a new meeting with the profession’s governing bodies for February 17. The discussion centers on whether pharmacies should remain owned exclusively by pharmacists or whether Morocco should allow some form of capital participation by non-pharmacists, a change supporters present as modernization and opponents see as a structural shift in how medicine is dispensed.
In a letter addressed to the president of Morocco’s National Order of Pharmacists, the Confederation of Syndicates of Pharmacists of Morocco (CSPM) urged the Order to take a clear position against opening pharmacy capital. The CSPM argues the issue is not limited to competition or business structure. It frames the question as one of professional independence, patient safety, and what it calls national pharmaceutical security, including the continuity and integrity of medicine supply and dispensing practices.
Union leaders say allowing outside capital could reframe the neighborhood pharmacy from a healthcare service into an investment-driven retail model. Their concern is that profit incentives could influence dispensing practices, weaken professional judgment, and pressure pharmacists on ethics and quality standards, especially in communities where pharmacies also function as a first stop for guidance on basic treatment and access.
The CSPM also warns of market concentration risks. In its view, capital-backed operators could outcompete small and mid-sized pharmacies, eventually destabilizing the national pharmacy network that supports access to medicines across the country. That risk matters more outside major cities, where fewer providers and longer travel distances can turn a local pharmacy closure into a real access problem.
Beyond the substance of the proposal, the union is also challenging the process. It is calling for any reform to be built through a participatory framework that respects the representativeness of professional bodies and the existing legal and regulatory foundations governing the profession
