Advertising visa
Advertising pharmaceutical products to healthcare professionals consists of any activity promoting the prescription and dispensing of pharmaceutical products. It is subject to prior authorization by the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products, and may only be performed for regularly registered pharmaceutical products.
Advertising must not be misleading or undermine public health protection. It must present the medicine or the product objectively and promote its proper use. It must comply with the provisions of the registration decision and the therapeutic strategies recommended by the Ministry of Health.
Advertising for a drug is forbidden when the drug is undergoing a reassessment of its risk-benefit ratio.
Pharmaceutical product advertising and promotion to the public are prohibited, regardless of the means of information used.
Application for an advertising visa
The application for an advertising visa is made to the Pharmaceutical Products Agency in two stages :
- Payment of the fee
- A letter addressed to the General Manager of the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products, specifying the name and type of the applicant pharmaceutical establishment (manufacturer, importer, distributor, operator, medical promotion company), where applicable, the principal, the name of the product, its international non-proprietary name, its dosage and its presentation(s). It is signed by the pharmacist responsible for medical information.
- Duly completed fee payment slip. The advertising approval fee is 60,000 DA per product, per dosage and per presentation. (download here)
- For first-time applicants, a copy of the promotional license (for pharmaceutical importers, distributors, operators and companies specializing in medical promotion) and, where applicable, the operating contract.
The payment slip, co-signed by the Director of Finance and Accounting and the Control and Expertise Manager, is collected by the applicant from the order office, with acknowledgement of receipt. Payment of the fee is made by bank transfer to the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products, to the bank details indicated on the payment slip.
- Submission of visa application
Once the fee has been paid, the applicant submits the advertising visa application to the order office of the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products. The file includes the following documents:
- A cover letter addressed to the General Manager of the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products, indicating the addressees of the advertisement and the method of distribution. It also specifies the pharmaceutical product(s) concerned. It is signed by the pharmacist responsible for medical information. It is signed by the pharmacist responsible for medical information.
- The completed advertising approval form
- A copy of proof of payment
- A copy of the current registration decision. If the registration decision has expired, a renewal receipt is enclosed.
- A clear, visible color mock-up of the advertisement.
- A CD-ROM containing scanned versions of the above-mentioned documents (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
- If applicable, a digital copy of the bibliographical references : studies supporting a result, property or claim linked to the product, whatever the methodology (clinical, preclinical, pharmacokinetic study, etc.) must be supplied, in French or English, in their original or translated versions, with yellow highlighting of the elements mentioned in the advertising project.
Free samples
Medical sampling for advertising and promotion is prohibited (Article 237 the Health law, 2018).