There are legal ways to access new medicines if you can't wait for local approvals
Have you been in this situation? You or someone you love suffers from a serious condition and the medical options you have in your country don’t work (anymore). So you’re searching for options abroad and trying to access them although they’re not approved in your country.
Fortunately, in most countries there are legal regulations in place that allow the import of unapproved medicines.
Read more about it here. Being aware of these regulations enabled us to help patients from over = $countriesReached; ?> countries gain access to medicines that are not yet approved in their country - making it possible for them to start a treatment soon.
The next questions inevitably are:
Let's take them one by one:
Country-specific regulations that allow the import of unapproved medicine
Select a country and you will see the specific country regulations here.
Australia
Importing a medicine that is unapproved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is possible under the Personal Importation Scheme.
Visit the government website.Brazil
Patients can import medicines into Brazil even if they are not approved by Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária Anvisa, provided they are strictly for personal use and do not contain restricted substances.
Visit the government website.Canada
Through Health Canada's special access programs (SAP), health care professionals may access non-marketed drugs and medical devices not yet approved for sale in Canada.
Visit the government website.France
Importing a medicine that is not yet approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and/or French Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé (ANSM), is possible without an import authorisation when the medicine is for personal use for an individual patient.
Visit the government website.Germany
Patients can import medicines not approved in the EU or by The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte or BfArM) in Germany under certain conditions.
Visit the government website.India
It is possible for patients to import medicines that are not approved in India, as stipulated by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare India for personal use and under specific conditions.
Visit the government website.New Zealand
The New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, Medsafe, stipulates that patients can legally import medicines for personal use from overseas.
Visit the government website.Pakistan
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) specifies that patients can import unapproved medicine in small quantities and only for personal use.
Visit the government website [PDF].Poland
Patients in Poland can import medicine that is not approved in Poland for personal use, as stipulated by the Polish Ministry of Health.
Visit the government website.Romania
Patients in Romania can import medicine that is not approved in Romania only for personal use, with a few exceptions that can be consulted in the “ORDIN nr. 680 din 16 iulie 2003” by the Ministry of Health on the Legislative Portal.
Visit the Legislative Portal.Spain
Importing a medicine for personal use that is unapproved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and/or The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS), is possible under a special access program via an online application.
Visit the government website.Turkey
According to the Ministry of Health, Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, it is legal to import unapproved medicines into Turkey for personal use, but there are many conditions.
Visit the government website.UK
The UK Government stipulates on their website that doctors may prescribe an unlicensed medicine if they think it will treat their patient’s condition effectively and the benefits are greater than any risks.
Visit the government website.USA
Importing a medicine that is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is possible under a policy named Personal Importation Policy (PIP).
Visit the FDA website.We can help you access medicine
If you wish to order medicine with us, we’ll inform you exactly what the regulations for your country are and what paperwork is required, in some cases we can even provide you with templates ready to be filled in.Please note that you can only order a medicine if you have a prescription from your treating doctor.
Simply search for your medicine in the Search bar or in the menu under Medicines and place a Request for details.
Frequently Asked Questions | Legal framework | The prescription

Our Patient Support Team will be happy to assist you