Portugal's Pharmacies Ring Up a Record 731,000 Euros a Day in Obesity Medicines as Mounjaro Dominates Sales
Infarmed data show pharmacies sold 132 million euros of obesity medicines from January to June, a record 731,000 euros a day, with Mounjaro three quarters of sales. Patients pay full price until a limited 15 percent scheme starts in February 2027.
Portuguese pharmacies sold an average of 731,000 euros a day of obesity medicines in the first half of 2026, the highest figure on record, according to Infarmed (the national medicines authority) data reported by the weekly Expresso on Thursday and carried by Observador on 6 November. Buyers pay the full price, because the SNS (National Health Service) does not yet reimburse any obesity medicine.
What the figure covers
Between January and June, pharmacies sold more than 528,000 packs of obesity medicines, worth 132 million euros. That is close to the whole of 2025, when almost 600,000 were sold. Tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro, is the most popular: three quarters of the medicines sold for weight loss contain it, and at 283 euros a pack it is also the most expensive in the category.
The count covers only medicines licensed for obesity. Ozempic, the best known of the GLP-1 drugs, is left out because it is licensed for type 2 diabetes, not obesity, so real spending on weight-loss injections is higher than the headline number.
The figure has climbed since spring. In May, ECO, citing Público, reported Infarmed figures of 55.2 million euros spent on tirzepatide and Wegovy (semaglutide) in the first quarter, about 613,000 euros a day. The two counts may not cover exactly the same products.
Inspections and prescribing
According to Expresso, as reported by Observador, Infarmed has inspected 92 pharmacies over the sale of these drugs since January 2025, the year in which packs sold quadrupled. Half were hit with a processo de contraordenação (an administrative offence case), mostly for dispensing more than the permitted quantity. The Ordem dos Médicos (the doctors' professional body) told the paper there is no problem of overprescription and that inappropriate prescribing is "residual", while accepting that no mechanism exists to prevent it.
What it means for you
- You pay full price for now. State help arrives only under Portaria n.º 464/2026/1, which takes effect 120 days after its publication on 22 October, so in February 2027. It pays 15 percent of the price, for 12 months at a time, and only for SNS patients followed by a hospital obesity team and prescribed by one of its specialists. We explained who qualifies when the order was published.
- Diabetes medicines are not for weight loss. In a 2024 circular, Infarmed said off-label use for weight loss had significantly worsened shortages of Ozempic, Trulicity and Victoza, told doctors not to prescribe them to people without diabetes, and said the SNS reimburses them only for adults with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes who meet set criteria.
- Buy only on prescription, from a pharmacy. The same circular warned of counterfeit GLP-1 medicines. Infarmed also receives about one suspected side-effect report a day for this class of drugs; speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you have concerns.
