Restricting the number of drugstores a single pharmacist may own is not going down well with many pharmacy owners. Reem Leila reports Claiming to reform the pharmaceutical sector as well as put an end to "severe violations" by pharmacists, the Egyptian Pharmacists Syndicate (EPS) abruptly agreed on enforcing Law 127/1955 regulating the profession. According to the law, each of the 120,000 pharmacists is permitted to own only two pharmacies at any given time, to be managed by him or under his direct supervision. Also, pharmacists are not allowed to open their own stores until one year after graduation. EPS Secretary-General Mahmoud Abdel-Maksoud pointed out that there are 33,000 pharmacies in Egypt, all of which by law must be owned and run by certified pharmacists. It has become difficult to accept violations by a "large percentage" of pharmacists of this requirement, asserted Abdel-Maksoud. "Although we do not have accurate statistics because most violators delude the EPS, we need to reform the system overall beyond enforcing a neglected law," he argued. Unfortunately, the road to reform is not paved with approval; in fact, rejections and severe objections might impede implementing the law. Emad Mustafa, owner of two pharmacies in Greater Cairo who wants to open a third, believes that the syndicate should help change legislation to empower pharmacists. It should also work towards increasing the number of drugstores, pending renewal every 3-5 years according to market's demands. Pharmacy owner Hani Guirguis's dream is to own a chain of drugstores, and he finds the EPS decision to enforce the long- forgotten law debatable. Guirguis emphasised that the law has been in place for many long years and nearly 13 per cent of licensed pharmacists own more than two pharmacies in rural and urban areas. "Why isn't the syndicate taking any action against them?" he asked. Abdel-Maksoud countered that since the percentage of violators is increasing, the EPS decided to take action against them. Regarding the current situation of some pharmacists who own more than two, will be subject to a fine ranging between LE2,000 and LE5,000, depending on the number of pharmacies they own. But if they are determined not to observe the law, drugstore owners proceed to sell their businesses to other owners on paper only. "By law, there is no clear penalty for them, therefore they will be subjected to paying the fine," revealed Abdel-Maksoud. Enforcing Law 127/1955 also protects Egyptian pharmacists from multinational drugstores wanting to launch their chains in the country. Egypt's pharmacies, according to Abdel-Maksoud, will be hard-hit if multinationals enter the drug retail market. "Local pharmacists will be unable to compete with the advertising budgets of multinationals, who, they fear, could easily exploit their market dominance and eventually pushing up the price of drugs," he explained. Accordingly, EPS is currently working on adding an article stipulating that owners of international drugstores and pharmacies must pass an Arabic language exam as a prerequisite to do business in Egypt. "This particular article will be added to protect Egyptian pharmacists as well as their industry," revealed the EPS secretary-general. Law 127/1955 is in accordance with a decree issued in 2003 by the Central Administration for Pharmacy Affairs. It also coincides with all international and regional laws regulating pharmacy ownership. Ahmed Rami, an EPS board member, stated that the syndicate was not acting irrationally, but rather trying to provide an equal opportunity for all licensed pharmacists to own their own business. At the same time, there are certain rules which must meet national and international standards, divulged Rami. These include that the store must not be less than 25 square metres and that at least 100 metres should separate one pharmacy from the next. "We are limiting choices, therefore we must at least guarantee equal chances," stated Rami. "If we allow every pharmacist to run any number of drugstores, not everyone will be able to find a place to work." The law allows for up to 240,000 pharmacies, but the current number is much lower because the market cannot absorb any more, he added.
