Ministry of Health must decide on new social pharmacy network after court ruling

The Supreme Administrative Court (STA) has ruled that mutual associations, charities, and IPSS institutions have the right to open private pharmacies for their members without needing to form commercial companies or participate in public tenders. This decision, based on a Constitutional Court ruling, forces the Infarmed regulator to re-examine a long-standing application by a mutual association in Vila Nova de Gaia. While the legal block to forming these pharmacies is removed, Infarmed must still verify if the specific application meets all operational and licensing requirements.