GLP-1 drugs in Panama: registrations, prices and CSS

Which registrations exist in Panama

The fullest answer comes from the Ministry of Health (MINSA) itself. On October 23, 2026, the National Directorate of Pharmacy and Drugs (DNFD) published a safety note on vision loss with semaglutide and, drawing on its Sanitary Registration Database (queried October 20), listed nine semaglutide products registered in Panama, all from Novo Nordisk A/S: Ozempic Fixdose and Ozempic Dualdose, five Wegovy FlexTouch presentations (0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.7 and 2.4 mg) and Rybelsus tablets at 7 and 14 mg³.

That differs from what the DNFD reported three years ago. In November 2023, listing the products registered under the brand names Ozempic and Saxenda, it cited only Ozempic (registrations 110266 and 110267) and Saxenda (liraglutide, 104394)¹. A September 2023 note added Victoza and Xultophy, also liraglutide, and, citing the European Medicines Agency, said that Wegovy and Saxenda are authorized for weight control, but Wegovy was not among the products registered in Panama². The 2026 list does include Wegovy³. (That same 2023 note prints the Ozempic Dualdose registration as 100267; the November notice and the 2026 note say 110267¹²³.)

And tirzepatide? The 2026 note covers only semaglutide, so it says nothing about it³. The DNFD alerts page carries notices about Mounjaro, but they are counterfeit warnings, not a registry listing⁴⁵. A Panamanian online store offers Mounjaro KwikPen in four strengths, although its listing does not mention a sanitary registration¹⁵. We could not verify tirzepatide: MINSA's public medicine-registration search did not respond when we tried to query it. A physician who needs to confirm it should ask the Sanitary Registration Department directly.

MINSA's 2026 counterfeit alerts

The 2023 pattern with Ozempic is repeating with tirzepatide. As we reported earlier in fake Ozempic and Mounjaro in Panama, MINSA went from warning about Ozempic pens filled with insulin to warning about Mounjaro. In 2026 alone the DNFD published alert 018-DNFD-2026 (June 15), based on a notice from Brazil's Anvisa, on Mounjaro KwikPen 15 mg, lot D719674C⁴; 032-DNFD-2026 (August 4), also from Anvisa, on Mounjaro 10 mg, lot 855044, expiry 04/2027⁵; and a third notice, reported on August 23, on lot D881474, with a serial number that does not match the original cartridge⁶. In that last one, the DNFD stated that the counterfeit product "is not registered in Panama"⁶.

A fourth document, alert 023-DNFD-2026 (June 29), relays a notice from Colombia's INVIMA with a list of products marked "Sin registro sanitario" (no sanitary registration): tirzepatide injection 10 mg, retatrutide in several presentations and various peptides, among others⁷. The page does not say whether that status refers to Colombia or Panama⁷.

For the 2025 picture, when MINSA said it was reviewing the use of Ozempic for weight loss, see semaglutide for weight loss: Panama's clash. La Prensa then reported the DNFD's position: only liraglutide (Saxenda) was approved in Panama for weight control, and semaglutide had no such local indication⁸. With Wegovy in the 2026 registry³, that 2025 statement no longer describes the current list, although the 2026 note does not explain when each presentation was registered.

Prices in Panamanian pharmacies

We found no Panamanian press price survey and no MINSA figures on GLP-1 prices. What is public are online pharmacy list prices, checked on November 2, 2026. Farmacias Julios lists Ozempic DualDose (1 pen, 1.5 ml) at $300.00 and Ozempic FixDose at $408.93, and states that it should be used only under medical indication¹³. Farmacias San Nicolás lists Ozempic DualDose 2 mg at $250.12 (previously $257.86), with a $234.65 VIP price and $180.50 with the "San Nicolás Agrícola" card¹⁴. These are shelf prices, not a market average, and they vary by presentation and promotion.

Mounjaro appears in Julios' online store, but its listing shows no price: it says it will send the reservation total after validating availability¹⁵.

CSS: what we could not confirm

The Social Security Fund (CSS) launched Mi Farma Digital in July 2026, a public, no-account lookup that shows whether a medicine is in the basic formulary and which pharmacy has stock; the CSS says its official list has 572 medicines and 93% national availability¹⁰. We could not query the platform from outside Panama, so we cannot say whether semaglutide, liraglutide or tirzepatide are included. What is documented: among the 16 additions to the official list announced in April 2025 was dapagliflozin for diabetes, but no GLP-1 agonist¹¹; and in 2024 the CSS announced dapagliflozin as its new medicine for diabetic patients¹².

We also found no Panamanian press reports of an Ozempic shortage in 2025 or 2026. The DNFD did acknowledge in 2023 that semaglutide's popularity for weight loss had caused "shortage situations"¹. On the regional misuse picture, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) asked in March 2026 for stronger pharmacovigilance and for limiting these medicines to approved indications⁹.