The Minister of Health, Amin Al-Tahrawi, rejected accusations of awarding a drug contract to a Minister in the government, insisting that contracts are not concluded with individuals but with companies without selectivity or discrimination.
Abdel Bouano from the Justice and Development Party, during a meeting of the Social Sectors Committee on Wednesday, spoke about the existence of conflicts of interest in the pharmaceuticals sector, stating that after conducting a search via the public procurement portal, he found that a drug company linked to a Minister in the government had received contracts worth 32 million dirhams in 2025, in addition to other contracts with university hospitals ranging between 8 and 50 million dirhams in the same year.
In response to these accusations and others, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Amin Al-Tahrawi, stated that the procurement of drugs, like other public purchases, is conducted exclusively within the framework of the law, emphasizing that public contracts are concluded with companies subject to commercial law.
The Minister clarified, in front of the Social Sectors Committee, that drug procurement operations “do not occur through individual decisions or personal judgments, and are executed according to the public procurement decree which defines the rules and conditions for competition, application processes, principles of transparency, and equal opportunities.”
Al-Tahrawi added that these contracts are subject to strict oversight by the relevant departments of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and are announced in advance on the national public procurement portal, ensuring equality of access and fair competition.
In this context, he noted that “the contract to supply the market with potassium was awarded by the ministry to a company that produces locally, within a strict framework of tendering, and not to an importing company with a temporary license.”
He continued that “concerning what was raised about conflicts of interest, it is essential to clarify that public contracts are not concluded with individuals but with companies subject to commercial law,” affirming the commitment “to apply the current laws as they are, without selectivity, exceptions, or discrimination.”
Regarding the management of drug licenses, Al-Tahrawi indicated that this is the responsibility of the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products, noting the establishment of this agency pursuant to law 10.22 related to its creation, which is an important structural reform addressing issues that have persisted for years.
In the same context, the Director General of the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products, Samir Ahid, outlined the constraints related to the institution authorized to market potassium chloride as it is considered a vital drug, especially in intensive care and cardiology departments.
He specifically pointed out the suspension of the injection production line due to reconstruction works of the industrial unit for injection forms, and the repeated exchange of technical documents between the institution and regulatory authorities during 2023 and 2024.
Given the therapeutic importance of this drug and the risk of heart rhythm disturbances in cases of acute potassium deficiency, Mr. Ahid added that the agency is working to provide technical support to the manufacturing institution, activate the exceptional import license when necessary, and expedite the review of the market authorization update, with continuous coordination with the supply directorate and health institutions.
He clarified that the exceptional import license is granted only in cases that require a confirmed therapeutic necessity for a prescribed drug not registered in Morocco, adding that the procedure related to it has been activated in a number of cases involving necessary drugs that were prescribed and not available in the Moroccan market, or in emergency situations threatening the patient’s life, or requests from health institutions or public contracts in the case of unregistered medication or in cases of shortages.
In a related context, Ahid confirmed that the agency recorded a significant increase in the number of exceptional import licenses in 2024, attributing this to pressure in the international market, especially for vital drugs and their raw materials, and enhancing the legal and regulatory role of this mechanism to ensure therapeutic continuity and avoid any disruption in essential medications.
On the other hand, Mr. Ahid noted a decrease in licenses in 2025 due to corrective measures by the agency, including improving the monitoring of the national drug stock and enhancing coordination with pharmaceutical industrial institutions, while enforcing compliance with the mandatory reserves of vital drugs according to the ministerial decision regulating this stock, and expediting the review of registration files, especially those concerning essential drugs, to reduce reliance on exceptional imports. He stated that the proactive measures adopted by the agency have prevented interruptions of a vital drug used in critical cardiac cases and activated exceptional legal mechanisms that protect patients’ lives, ensuring the return of national production after revitalizing the industrial unit.
