The DPMED is the competent authority responsible for regulating the pharmaceutical sector in Benin, including the registration of medicines. Nevertheless, the DPMED does not have the necessary autonomy to make regulatory decisions without consulting the Ministry of Health to which it is structurally bound. The processing of MA applications is carried out by the SLRGP of the DPMED. MAs for pharmaceutical products are granted by the director of DPMED through the delegated authority of the minister of health. Import authorization is also granted by the director of DPMED.

DPMED undertakes licensing of imports to Benin.

DPMED has been using a computerized medicines registration system developed in Burkina Faso and utilized by the Burkinabe Department of Pharmacy (the SIGIP_ARP software). This software has come to replace the SIAMED software abandoned following many years of use.2 This software is not the only one currently being used, however, since Excel files serve as the primary database to monitor the import of pharmaceutical products. DPMED does not have its own website