Key points
- Law 419: selling a product without sanitary registration is a very serious offense, fined B/.15,001 to B/.25,000, without prejudice to civil or criminal action [1].
- Decree 27: personal import requires a prescription from a qualified professional, a maximum of six months of treatment, and no raw material by courier [2].
- Penal Code art. 309: a physician who prescribes or supplies “without medical or therapeutic need” or in excess dose faces 1 to 3 years in prison or the equivalent in day-fines or weekend arrest [3].
- Law 419 art. 140: professionals in the media may not use trade names or recommend brands [1].
US status (October 2026): Panama law does not change US status. See the peptide status tracker.
Why a US clinic should read Panama’s rules
Panama is a medical tourism destination, and your patients come back from it. They arrive with products bought on social media, vials from other countries or treatments heard about on podcasts. Panama renewed its legal framework in 2024 with Law 419 on medicines and its regulation, Executive Decree 27 [1][2]. The structure will look familiar: registration, import limits, criminal liability for the prescriber, consent and advertising. It is a useful comparison for the US questions covered in Are peptides legal?. This is a summary of the articles that most affect clinical practice there.
Law 419 of 2024 sets registration and sanctions
- Art. 156.1 classifies as a very serious offense “marketing a product without sanitary registration, except for the exceptions authorized by this Law” [1].
- Art. 156.2: it is also very serious to “distribute or dispense contaminated, altered, falsified or adulterated products” [1].
- Art. 150: fines “from five hundred balboas (B/.500.00) to twenty-five thousand balboas (B/.25,000.00)”, “without prejudice to civil or criminal action”. For very serious offenses the fine ranges from B/.15,001 to B/.25,000 [1].
- Art. 3(71) defines a prescription as one “issued by a qualified physician” [1].
Executive Decree 27 governs import and registration exceptions
Personal-use import by courier or traveler requires a prescription from a “qualified professional”, and the quantity “must not exceed six months of treatment”. Also: “The import of raw material or unfinished products through courier services or travelers is not permitted” (art. 358.3) [2].
An exception to sanitary registration for a patient requires a prescription and registration of the product by a “high-standard regulatory authority” (art. 209). It is valid for 60 business days with no extension (art. 214) and is free for the patient [2]. A peptide not registered by any high-standard agency does not fit that pathway. That is an inference from the cited articles, not a MINSA ruling [1][2].
- B/.25,000: maximum fine under Law 419 [1]
- 6 months: of treatment, personal-import cap [2]
- 60 days: business-day validity of the registration exception [2]
The Penal Code treats public health offenses as crimes
- Art. 304: whoever “poisons, contaminates, alters or corrupts food, medicine, excipient or raw material”, 4 to 10 years in prison [3].
- Art. 305: delivering a medicine “knowing it to be harmful”, 3 to 6 years [3].
- Art. 306: if illness results, 6 to 12 years. If death results, the penalties for aggravated homicide [3].
- Art. 309: “A physician or person with a health career who prescribes or supplies a drug without medical or therapeutic need to justify it or in a dose greater than necessary”, 1 to 3 years in prison or the equivalent in day-fines or weekend arrest [3].
- Art. 381: practicing a profession without the required qualification, 2 to 5 years [3].
The text consulted is the 2019 consolidated version published by the Public Ministry. We did not verify later amendments [3].
Law 68 of 2003 requires specific written consent
Written consent is mandatory for procedures “involving notable and foreseeable risks or drawbacks” (art. 16), and it “must be specific to each procedure” (art. 17) [4]. With products of limited evidence, documenting what is and is not known about the product is part of that consent. The same discipline protects a US chart.
Advertising rules reach physicians on social media
Art. 140 of Law 419 prohibits recommending treatments through mass media, and health professionals who take part in mass media for teaching purposes “may not use trade names or recommend particular brands of medicines” [1]. In January 2026 the Medical Association reminded members that its Ethics Code prohibits promotional use of patient testimonials that breaches confidentiality and the promotion of treatments without scientific support, and asked them to “avoid sensationalism and the promise of guaranteed results” [5]. There is precedent for MINSA sanctioning a physician over public statements: a fine in 2022 for vaccine misinformation [6].
What we did not find
We found no MINSA ruling on the legal status of peptides such as BPC-157 or TB-500 in Panama, and no published sanctions against physicians for prescribing them. We also did not verify Penal Code amendments after 2019. In the US, both compounds are covered on their own pages: BPC-157 and TB-500.
What this means for you
Treat a product a patient brings back from Panama as unverified. Chart where it came from, do not continue it on the strength of a foreign prescription, and source anything you prescribe through a US pharmacy that can document it. The broader medical tourism picture is covered in Stem cells in Panama.
References
- República de Panamá. Ley 419 de 1 de febrero de 2024, que regula los medicamentos y otros productos para la salud humana (texto vía vLex). Link
- Ministerio de Salud de Panamá. Decreto Ejecutivo 27 de 10 de mayo de 2024 (Gaceta Oficial 30028-C). Link
- Ministerio Público de Panamá. Código Penal de la República de Panamá, texto único (2019). Link
- República de Panamá. Ley 68 de 20 de noviembre de 2003, que regula los derechos y obligaciones de los pacientes en materia de información y de decisión libre e informada. Link
- Samaniego A. Colegio Médico advierte sobre publicidad médica y tratamientos sin evidencia. La Prensa (Panamá). 4 de enero de 2026. Link
- Panamá América. Médicos aplauden la sanción impuesta por el Minsa a la doctora Marta Roa. 17 de febrero de 2022. Link
This is general information, not medical or legal advice. Rules vary by state and change. Confirm your own facts with counsel.