The Department of Health has announced the full transfer of a pharmacy office in Markina

The Department of Health has announced a proposal for the 100% transmission of a pharmacy office in the pharmaceutical area of Markina (Bizkaia). The announcement was published in the October 21, 2026, issue of the Boletín Oficial del País Vasco, with official reference 2026/4420, and it specifies that interested pharmacists have a period of two months to submit their applications. The conditions and price of the operation can be consulted in the file, but the announcement does not provide the name of the transferor nor the amount of the price.

Legal Framework and Signature

The announcement falls within the procedure established by Decree 166/1999, specifically to fulfill the advertising obligation mandated by Article 4 of said decree of March 16, 1999. This regulation governs the transmission procedure of pharmacy offices, and in this case, the Department of Health is issuing a public call so that pharmacists in the sector can participate in the operation.

The document was signed in Vitoria-Gasteiz on October 2, 2026, by the Director of Pharmacy, Jon Iñaki Betolaza San Miguel. The signature date and the publication date are different, which is important for calculating deadlines: the legal reference is not the date of the signature, but the day the announcement appeared in the official gazette.

Where to Consult the File

The characteristics of the pharmacy office, the price, and the remaining conditions of the transmission are included in the file, which can be accessed at the three territorial delegations:

• Álava: Delegación Territorial de Salud, Olaguibel street 38, Vitoria-Gasteiz.
• Gipuzkoa: Delegación Territorial de Salud, Sancho el Sabio street 35, Donostia / San Sebastián.
• Bizkaia: Delegación Territorial de Salud, Alameda Rekalde 39, Bilbao.

All three offices are open for consultation, even though the operation is located in a pharmaceutical area of Bizkaia. This allows pharmacists from all territories to obtain the information directly, avoiding unnecessary travel.

Deadlines and Cost

Pharmacists wishing to participate in the procedure must consider the following economic and administrative conditions:

• The period for submitting requests is two months, counted from the day the announcement was published in the Boletín Oficial del País Vasco; therefore, counting from October 21, 2026, the period would end on January 21, 2027.
• Each request must pay a fee of 274.81 euros as the administrative cost of the procedure to acquire the pharmacy office.
• The object of the transmission is 100% of the pharmacy office, that is, a full change of ownership, and not a partial one.

The fee amount is fixed and is not related to the price of the operation; the latter depends on the conditions included in the file and is not published in the official announcement.

Impact on the Pharmacy Sector

The call has a direct impact on the pharmacy network around Markina, as it may condition the map of pharmacy offices in the region. The complete transfer of a pharmacy office does not only change the ownership: it can affect the continuity of the service, the status of the employees, and the pharmaceutical supply for the population in that area.

The procedure is addressed to licensed pharmacists, which means the call will be contested among professionals of the sector, not among any investor. Therefore, the two-month deadlines require special attention from interested parties, as the period begins from the day it is published in the official gazette and will not be notified later.

Likewise, the advertisement does not clarify whether the pharmacy office is operational or closed, nor its exact location within the pharmaceutical area. These details must be consulted in the file, and that is, precisely, the main reason for visiting the three territorial delegations.

Administrative transparency

This advertising process fulfills the transparency obligation: although it is a private operation, pharmacy offices are part of the planning of the public health system, and therefore transfers must be made public. Article 4 of Decree 166/1999 so mandates, and the Department of Health has fulfilled this obligation by publishing the announcement in the official gazette.

For interested parties, therefore, obtaining the information as soon as possible is key: the file is available in the three capitals, the deadline is already running, and the need to pay the fee must be foreseen before formalizing the request.

Fuente: Boletín Oficial del País Vasco, number 2026/4420, October 21, 2026, Section I (ANUNCIOS – Otros anuncios oficiales) (official reference: 2026/4420).