Nearly 20 million packages of expired medicine worth 400 million Egyptian pounds ($7.4 million) remain stuck in warehouses, as distribution companies delay reimbursements and the Egyptian Drug Authority’s year‑old withdrawal initiative stalls. Ali Ouf, head of the Pharmaceuticals Division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, accused distributors of blocking payments and blamed manufacturers for failing to take back expired stock, despite an EDA order requiring them to do so within 90 days.
In February 2025, the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) ordered pharmaceutical companies to accept returns of expired products they had manufactured or imported from pharmacies, warehouses and depots within 90 days, following complaints of a thriving trade in expired medicines.
Despite the impasse, an official source at the EDA told Al Manassa that the authority aims to clear the backlog by the end of May, noting that more than 50% of companies have already reimbursed distribution companies for the returns, ahead of deducting them from invoices for pharmacy order invoices.
But completing the initiative this month will not stop subsequent batches of expired medicines from reaching pharmacies, Ouf told Al Manassa. He called for a permanent, binding EDA mechanism requiring manufacturers to regularly withdraw expired products, without conditions or restrictions, to prevent another buildup and keep the stocks from being illegally recirculated.
Ouf said the risk of expired medicines piling up in pharmacies has intensified after some distribution companies suspended a returns system in place before the EDA initiative began, which allowed pharmacies to send back expired products equal to 2% of their total monthly orders.
Responsibility for withdrawing expired medicines from the market lies entirely with manufacturers, he said, stressing that pharmacists are not the responsible party, since their role is limited to procuring and dispensing medicines to patients.
In contrast, the EDA source said distribution companies have already begun issuing credits for March returns, through invoices issued on April 20. He acknowledged that the volume of completed transactions remains limited, but promised work would continue to accelerate the process in the coming period.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said crediting April returns will begin on May 20. EDA head Ali Ghamrawy met with pharmaceutical and distribution companies last week to review the initiative’s progress and speed up payments for returned stock, the source added.
Asked why the EDA has not forced companies to take back expired medicines with no conditions attached, the source blamed the buildup on poor planning and weak marketing across the supply chain, from manufacturers to distributors and pharmacies. The authority, he said, does not directly intervene in what remains a commercial relationship among the three parties.
He said the three parties should agree on a suitable mechanism for regularly withdrawing expired medicines, with the EDA ready to formally endorse it if they reach an agreement.
The source further noted that direct EDA intervention to control production and distribution—intended to stop expired medicines from accumulating—could mean setting production quotas or imposing restrictions on pharmacies. Such steps, he argued, would clash with market competition and the freedom to manufacture and trade medicines.
