The Department of Health has published the allocation of a pharmacy space in Arrigorriaga

The Department of Health has announced a proposal for the 100% transfer of a pharmacy office in the pharmaceutical area of Arrigorriaga (Bizkaia), and interested parties have a period of two months to submit their applications. The call was published in issue number 203 of the Boletín Oficial del País Vasco on October 23, 2026, with official reference 2026/4462. The announcement was signed by Jaime Ruiz de Eguino Langarica, Director of Health Insurance and Contracting, in Vitoria-Gasteiz on October 8, 2026, on behalf of the Director of Pharmacy, as the position is currently vacant.

The announcement complies with Article 4 of Decree 166/1999; this regulation of March 16 establishes the transfer procedure for pharmacy offices and mandates that proposals must be published so that interested parties may submit applications in a competitive process. The procedure falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health, and Decree 319/2024, of October 29, which establishes the organic and functional structure of the department, allows for the granting of representative signatures while the position of Director of Pharmacy remains unfilled.

Where to submit applications

Interested parties may obtain the information contained in the file, both regarding the characteristics of the office and the price and other conditions of the transfer, at the three territorial representations:

• Territorial Representation of Álava, Olaguibel Street 38, Vitoria-Gasteiz.
• Territorial Representation of Gipuzkoa, Sancho el Sabio Street 35, Donostia / San Sebastián.
• Territorial Representation of Bizkaia, Alameda Rekalde 39, Bilbao.

The three addresses are valid for any pharmacist from any territory to make an inquiry, and there is no requirement to submit the application in a specific historical territory.

Two-month period and 274.81 euro fee

The period for submitting applications is two months, counted from the day the announcement was published in the Boletín Oficial del País Vasco; therefore, the period will end on December 23. Each application must pay a fee of 274.81 euros, as specified in the announcement itself.

• Publication date: October 23, 2026.
• Period: two months from publication.
• Fee: 274.81 euros per application.
• Signature date: October 8, 2026, Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Price and conditions in the file

The announcement does not publish the transfer price, nor the exact location of the office or the data of the holder. All this information is in the file, and interested parties must consult it at any of the territorial representations. This procedure does not establish a call for a public tender, but rather fulfills the publicity process required by current regulations for making new transfer proposals.

Procedure repeated in 2026

In this year’s event, similar advertisements have been published in other pharmacy areas, such as Sestao, Donostia, Leioa, Vitoria-Gasteiz, and Markina, all distributed across the territories of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, and Araba. The same model is repeated in all cases: 100% assignment, three territorial representations, a two-month period, and a fee of 274.81 euros. The case of Arrigorriaga, therefore, falls within the procedure processed by the Department of Health through the usual administrative channel.

The impact is direct for the sector: pharmacists around Arrigorriaga have the opportunity to acquire a position in the Bizkaia pharmacy network, but the competition will be resolved in the short term and the economic conditions will only be known in the file. The assignment of a pharmacy office is a decision to organize a public service, and it has a direct consequence for citizens, as it conditions the future of medicine distribution in that area.

Fuente: Boletín Oficial del País Vasco, n.º 203, 23 de octubre de 2026, Anuncios. Otros anuncios oficiales (referencia oficial: 2026/4462).