Selling to Saudi government health buyers: a short guide for foreign makers

Written by TenderGulf, October 2026. Every point links to its source. Where a source is secondary, we say so.

Who buys

NUPCO, the National Unified Procurement Company, owned by the Public Investment Fund, buys medicines, devices and supplies for government health entities. It reports more than SAR 25 billion of procurement a year (Argaam, February 2025). The Ministry of National Guard assigned its supply to NUPCO in 2020 (NUPCO).
NUPCO buys through framework tenders (numbered NPT) and direct purchases (numbered NDP), on its own systems: iNUPCO for supplier registration and SRM for buying documents and submitting offers (NUPCO supplier FAQ). These are not on Etimad.
Etimad carries the rest of government buying, including hospitals, universities and military health services. In 2025 it carried more than 82,000 tenders worth about SAR 324 billion across all sectors (Arab News).

An SFDA marketing authorisation (MDMA) for every product, held through a licensed Saudi authorised representative. NUPCO framework booklets require the MDMA to show the product's national registry number (NPT0031/26, clause 9.3).
A NUPCO catalogue listing before the offer. Without it no offer can be entered for that line (NPT0031/26 and NPT0032/26, clause 1.1.10.2).
A NUPCO-accredited Saudi agent or distributor. Only accredited agents and distributors can buy the documents (NPT0031/26 and NPT0032/26, clause 1.3).
An Arabic offer. The Arabic text prevails (NPT0031/26, clause 3.1).
Proof of use for some lines. Lines described as "compatible with" a named analyser need trial certificates from government hospitals (NPT0031/26, clause 9.10).

Local content. A foreign product's price is treated as 10 percent higher than bid, and bids that break the mandatory list of national products are excluded (Ministry of Finance regulation). The mandatory list reached 1,752 products in the second quarter of 2026 (Arab News). Listed pharmaceutical products can get up to 20 percent more preference (Argaam).
The Regional HQ rule. Since 1 January 2024 government entities may not contract with foreign companies that run their regional headquarters for the region outside the Kingdom, or with their agents for those goods (Clyde & Co; the regulations). A maker with no regional headquarters in the region appears to fall outside it; have a Saudi lawyer confirm for your case. Exemptions since November 2025: a sole compliant bid, a bid at least 25 percent cheaper than the next, or a contract of SAR 1 million or less (Arab News; Enterprise). Some 2026 NUPCO framework booklets cite the rule (NPT0031/26, clause 1.1.12.1); others we have seen do not. Check each booklet.
Prices are not public. NUPCO publishes final results without prices and emails prices only to bidders (NUPCO tender FAQ).

A new Government Tenders and Procurement Law was published on 4 September 2026 and takes effect about 2 January 2027. It raises the direct purchase limit to SAR 1 million (summary, secondary source; check against the official gazette). More buying will move into short direct purchases with windows of one to three weeks.

Check that every product you want to offer has a current MDMA and a NUPCO catalogue entry.
Ask your Saudi agent whether it is accredited with NUPCO for your categories.
Watch both NUPCO and Etimad. Our free English register lists every open Saudi government health tender we can read, every morning: open tenders.
When a tender fits, get the booklet read before you decide. Our bid or no-bid brief does that in 24 hours. See a full sample.