Drug price cuts in Morocco: what the August 2026 decree changes

On August 6, 2026, Morocco's Official Bulletin published Decree No. 2.25.631 — the first reform of the country's drug pricing system in thirteen years. Behind this technical text, adopted on July 23 by the Council of Government, lies a concrete change for millions of patients: every medication sold in Morocco will have its price re-examined over the next twelve months, with cuts expected on the most expensive treatments — cancer drugs first among them, some of which have already seen their price fall by more than 40%. This article explains what the decree actually changes, which medications have already dropped in price, when the new prices will reach pharmacies, and how to benefit from them starting today.

01The essentials in 30 seconds#

Decree No. 2.25.631 of July 23, 2026, published in the Official Bulletin on August 6, amends Decree No. 2.13.852 of December 2013, which had governed the public sale prices of medications until now. Three major changes: prices will now be automatically revised every three years (instead of five previously — and even that was applied irregularly); the calculation method relies on strengthened international benchmarking against reference countries; and a generic or biosimilar can no longer be sold at a higher price than its reference medication. All medications currently on the market — originator drugs, generics and biosimilars — must be re-priced within twelve months, and each new price takes effect no later than sixty days after its publication in the Official Bulletin. The first lists of price cuts, published in earlier waves, have already brought the price of Nexavar 200 mg down from 18,759 to 10,700 dirhams.

02The new price-setting mechanism#

The heart of the reform is a two-speed mechanism, with a threshold set at 300 dirhams ex-factory price excluding taxes (PFHT) — a design the Moroccan business press summed up in one phrase: the decree "cuts the market in two."

For medications whose ex-factory price exceeds 300 dirhams — which is the case for innovative treatments, cancer drugs and biotherapies — the Moroccan price will be aligned with the lowest ex-factory price charged in the reference countries designated by the regulations. In other words, if a manufacturer sells the same medication for less in Portugal, Turkey or France, that floor price becomes the basis for the Moroccan tariff. This is the most powerful lever in the text: for expensive medications, the gap between the Moroccan price and the best international price could be as much as double.

For medications priced at 300 dirhams or less — the overwhelming majority of boxes sold in pharmacies — the calculation uses the average of the ex-factory prices charged in the reference countries, a less aggressive mechanism designed to preserve the economic viability of low-margin products, on which local availability and Morocco's pharmaceutical industry depend.

The second innovation is the automatic three-year revision. Under the old 2013 regime, the five-year revision remained largely theoretical: entire segments of the market had never been re-examined, and medications whose prices had collapsed everywhere else in the world continued to sell in Morocco at their launch price. The new text imposes a systematic review every three years, without the ministry needing to open a case-by-case file.

According to the Ministry of Health, the decree was drawn up in consultation with the interministerial pricing commission, the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products and the Competition Council — although community pharmacists vigorously dispute this account, as we will see below.

03The cuts already confirmed: cancer drugs lead the way#

Even before this decree, several waves of targeted price cuts had been published in the Official Bulletin since 2025, with a strong focus on oncology — treatments whose monthly cost exceeded the annual salary of many Moroccan households.

The most spectacular cut concerns Nexavar 200 mg (sorafenib), indicated for hepatocellular carcinoma and advanced kidney cancer: its public price fell from 18,759 to 10,700 dirhams for the box of 60 tablets, a 43% reduction. Its generics are following the same trajectory — Sorafenat and Sorafenib Pharmacare are now listed at 10,600 dirhams. Tarceva 150 mg (erlotinib), used in lung cancer, dropped from 17,885 to 9,451 dirhams (−47%). Afinitor (everolimus), prescribed for certain neuroendocrine tumors, went from 16,280 to 11,832 dirhams. Stivarga 40 mg (regorafenib), a colorectal cancer treatment, was brought down from 28,639 to 26,806 dirhams. Even older molecules were affected: doxorubicin, a mainstay of breast cancer chemotherapy, saw its price adjusted downward.

These figures call for an important clarification: they are the official public sale prices (PPV — prix public de vente), the ones displayed in pharmacies. For a patient covered under the long-term illness scheme (ALD), the out-of-pocket cost depends on their insurance regime — but a lower reference price mechanically means reimbursement that covers a larger share of the treatment, and a reduced out-of-pocket amount for anything not covered at 100%. You can check the up-to-date official price of any medication on the Sahha medication database, which is refreshed with every published list.

04The concrete timeline for patients#

The decree sets a precise timeline, and this is probably the most useful piece of information to remember. Marketing authorization holders have twelve months from the publication of the text — so until summer 2027 — for the full set of prices to be revised under the new rules. Each revised price decision is then published in the Official Bulletin, and the new tariff must be applied in pharmacies no later than sixty days after that publication.

In practice, this means you should not expect an across-the-board price drop overnight: the new prices will arrive in successive waves, list after list, throughout the next twelve months. The first decisions produced by the new mechanism are expected to target the medications with the greatest financial impact first — where the gap with international prices is the most glaring. For patients, this means a chronic treatment purchased every month can change price partway through the year: the price shown at the pharmacy counter is authoritative, and it is entirely legitimate to ask your pharmacist whether a revision has been published for your medication.

05Generics and biosimilars: the new rule#

One provision of the decree went relatively unnoticed even though it corrects an anomaly well known to pharmacists: after revision, a generic or a biosimilar can no longer be sold at a public price higher than that of its reference medication. The situation had actually occurred — an originator drug whose price had been revised downward ended up cheaper than its own copies, stripping the incentive to choose generics of all meaning.

The rule restores the logical hierarchy: the generic remains, by design, the cheapest option or at worst an equivalent one. This is a real point of attention for your wallet: in Morocco, generic penetration is rising but remains below that of European markets, often out of simple lack of awareness. Systematically asking your pharmacist whether a generic exists — pharmacists have the right of substitution in most cases — remains one of the simplest ways to reduce a pharmacy bill.

06Shortages and state-negotiated discounts#

The text is not limited to prices. It introduces a shortage-prevention mechanism — a direct response to the repeated stock-outs that marked recent years, from Ozempic to pediatric antibiotics. The scheme frames the obligations of marketing authorization holders regarding continuity of supply to the national market.

Another structural novelty, clarified in mid-August: the state will now be able to negotiate discounts directly with pharmaceutical companies on medications with a high financial impact on the health insurance schemes. This mechanism, common in Europe (it is the principle behind France's price-volume agreements), lowers the real cost borne by AMO — Morocco's mandatory health insurance — without touching the displayed face price. It is an additional lever for the financial sustainability of the country's universal health coverage rollout.

07What it changes for AMO reimbursement#

Reimbursement of a medication by the CNSS (the social security fund for private-sector employees) or the CNOPS (the fund for public-sector employees) is calculated on the basis of a reference price — generally that of the cheapest generic when copies exist. The general price revision therefore has a double effect: it lowers the amount you pay upfront at the pharmacy, and it narrows the gap between the price paid and the reimbursement base, reducing the out-of-pocket cost for medications whose price had drifted away from their base.

For long-term illness (ALD) treatments covered at 100% of the national reference tariff, the price cuts benefit the insurance funds first — but that is precisely what conditions the expansion of covered care baskets. For the full details on rates (CNSS 70%, CNOPS 80%, ALD 100%) and third-party payment, our dedicated guide to medication reimbursement covers everything, and the CNSS reimbursement simulator gives you an estimate in a few seconds.

08Why pharmacists are protesting#

The decree was not adopted by consensus. The Confederation of Pharmacists' Unions of Morocco said it learned of the text's adoption "with regret and surprise," denouncing observations and proposals that were "totally ignored" and accusing the ministry of forcing the text through. The underlying grievance: pharmacy margins are pegged to the public price — every price cut mechanically squeezes the income of the country's 12,000 pharmacies, some of which, in rural areas or working-class neighborhoods, are already operating at break-even. The unions had demanded a parallel reform of pharmacist remuneration (a fixed dispensing fee, decoupled from the price), which was not included in this text.

The debate is not a side issue for patients: a weakened pharmacy network means less reliable on-call duty rosters and under-served areas. The pricing reform will probably, in time, call for a reform of pharmacy remuneration — the file remains open.

09Practical tips to pay less#

While the new prices are being rolled out, three simple reflexes make a real difference. First, check the official price of your medication on the Sahha database before going to the pharmacy: the PPV (public sale price) is a regulated price, identical in every pharmacy in the kingdom — if you are charged more, something is wrong. Second, ask for the generic: on most prescriptions, the pharmacist can substitute, and the decree's new rule guarantees that the generic will never be more expensive than the originator. Finally, for costly long-term treatments, raise the price revision with your doctor or pharmacist at renewal time: if a cut has been published for your molecule, it applies within sixty days — there is no point stockpiling boxes at the old price.

Patients on cancer treatment, for their part, have every reason to review their situation with their referring oncologist: between the cuts already confirmed on sorafenib, erlotinib and everolimus and the discounts the state can now negotiate, the financial landscape of a treatment protocol may have changed significantly since it was first prescribed.