There are legal ways to access new medicines if you can't wait for local approvals

1 - Does MY country have a legal regulation that allows me to import unapproved medicines?

Scrolling below, you can check a country you are interested in and read these regulations on the government website. (in a hurry? click here to skip to countries)

2 - Will I be denied by Customs because the medicine is not approved?

Customs will not deny you as they are aware of the regulations that make it legal to import unapproved medicines.

3 - Will my doctor prescribe to me a medicine that is not approved in our country?

Your doctor or hospital however might not be aware that it is in fact legal for them to prescribe and administer unapproved medication and could deny you treatment.

This is a common occurrence and can happen because the doctor is not aware of the potential treatments being approved in the world and/or because they might not be aware that it is legal to prescribe a medicine that is not approved or not approved in this dosage and/or for the indication (the latter is called "off-label use"). This is not only permissible under certain conditions, but sometimes even necessary.

The doctor decides upon his own medical discretion. They must take into account the medical standard and closely monitor the treatment. The doctor weighs carefully the pros and cons of the potential treatment and informs the patient about the risks. Together, they will share the responsibility of an unapproved treatment. Often, and especially for treatments of life-threatening diseases, the pros outweigh the cons as there is no other therapy available.

Sometimes we hear from our patients that they had to inform their doctor and hospital about the legality of prescribing locally unapproved medicine or for the off-label use of medicines - you can read such a story here.

4 - What are the next steps?

Step #1: Obtain a prescription

The first and most important step to accessing a newly approved medicine is having a prescription from the treating doctor who must also supervise the treatment.

You and your doctor can learn more about it in our physician’s guide to importing a medicine approved abroad [PDF].

Step #2: Prepare additional documents

This step is entirely dependent on the country where the prescription is from. Medicine import rules differ per country, some countries might only require a prescription, while others could ask for import licenses, letters from the doctor, forms to be filled in and more.

Our experts are knowledgeable about the regulations of most countries of the world and as such, we have been able to deliver medicine to over 88 countries.

Read below the regulations from countries allowing patients to import unapproved medicines under the set requirements. *We strive to monitor and renew all amendments shortly after implementation for each country but cannot guarantee its completeness or accuracy at all times. Should you spot any discrepancy we’re grateful if you let us know so we can update our systems.

Step #3: Place your request with everyone.org

Once you have a prescription and documents for your country, we can help you access medicine from our website. If you can’t find your country and/or the documents required in the list below, simply find the medicine you need and place a Request for details. Our Patient Support Team will gladly assist you and tell you what documents are required and how to obtain them.