Are medicines being forcibly bundled and sold to pharmacies? The Competition Committee is investigating the situation
It is reported that in Uzbekistan, some medicine suppliers are requiring pharmacies to purchase preparations that were not ordered as well.
Complaints are spreading on social networks that some importers and wholesale distributors, when selling medicines in high demand to pharmacies, are also forcing the sale of other preparations along with them.
The Competition Committee is studying these cases. According to Committee information, such requirements may harm the economic interests of small business entities, restrict their activities, and negatively affect competition in the market.
It has been reported that in the first 9 months of 2026, medicines were imported into Uzbekistan by 305 enterprises. 47.2 percent of imports accounted for 5 importers.
As of October 1, 2026, there were a total of 14,598 pharmacies in the country. Of these, 449 are wholesale and 14,149 are retail pharmacies. Of the retail pharmacies, 7,940 are main pharmacies and 6,209 are branches.
According to the Law "On Competition," imposing a condition on a counterparty to also purchase or sell another good when concluding a contract may in certain cases be assessed as an abuse of superior bargaining power.
Financial sanctions may be applied for violation of competition legislation. The amount of the sanction may be 5 percent of the revenue received from the sale of goods during the period in which the offense was committed, but not exceeding the last three years.
The Committee emphasizes that if it is established that a condition has been imposed to mandatorily purchase other, unordered preparations when purchasing medicines in high demand, and this violates competition legislation, the measures established by legislation may be applied to the relevant enterprises.
