Egypt’s drug regulator has officially launched its pharmaceutical track-and-trace system this month at the Egyptian Pharmaceutical Trading Company (EPTC) and 30 public pharmacies, a source at the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) told Al Manassa.
The system is due to be rolled out to all manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies nationwide within three to five years, the source said, with the aim of preventing counterfeit medicines from reaching pharmacies and patients.
The source said 25 imported medicines have been added to the system since the launch, covering a total of 18,000 packs. The medicines carry an international code or identifier that allows the EDA to trace a product’s route from manufacturing until it reaches patients through public or private pharmacies.
Under the EDA’s plan, the first phase will cover about 1,365 imported medicines, as well as scheduled controlled substances, “because they carry an internationally approved identifier that is easy to trace once it is added to the electronic tracking system,” the source said.
Track-and-trace will be expanded to other medicines in phases, based on priorities set by the EDA and the Ministry of Health and Population, the source said. In the second phase, the authority plans to add cancer medicines, medicines for chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, and selected groups of antibiotics.
The initial rollout does not mean the 25 medicines, or imported medicines generally, will be distributed only through the EPTC and its Esaaf pharmacies, the source said. Rather, these products will remain available through other distributors and pharmacies, but in the first phase the EDA will only be able to track them through those distribution channels.
The EDA will hold a press conference next week to explain how the system works, the medicine groups covered, and the next expansion phase, the source said.
In February 2025, as the EDA was planning track-and-trace, its assistant head Yasin Ragaey explained to Al Manassa that it relies on an electronic system linking the regulator with manufacturers, distributors, warehouses, and pharmacies, enabling it to locate medicines and track their circulation, from the customs clearance of raw materials until they reach patients, using a barcode printed on packs and registered on the system.
The barcode includes information such as the manufacturer, the medicine’s current location, price, sales, and circulation routes in the market, Ragaey said at the time, adding that this allows real-time monitoring and the detection of tampering or attempts to introduce counterfeit medicines into pharmacies and warehouses.
In October 2024, DAF and GS1 Egypt signed a cooperation protocol to launch a medicine-tracking project. Before end 2024, EDA had announced the launch of “Dawana,” a project to track narcotic and psychotropic medicines.
