World Pharmacy Council

What World Pharmacy Council does

The World Pharmacy Council (WPC) is a non-profit international association that represents community pharmacy organizations across 14 countries. Established in 1987 as Pharmintercom by seven founder member countries and renamed to the World Pharmacy Council in 2016, the organization is headquartered in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia, and has been an Associate Expert Group member of Business at OECD (BIAC) since 2019. Its core offerings consist of the annual Sector Analysis Report (now in its eighth edition), formal position statements on vaccination, dispensing and core funding, medicines shortages, and healthcare system resilience, a fellowship program (FWPC), and the annual Pharmintercom conference hosted in member countries. Recent editions have been held in New York (2023), Lisbon (2024), Singapore (2025), and Berlin (2026), with Sydney scheduled for 2027 to mark the 40th anniversary.

WPC's business model is membership-based: full members are national community pharmacy representative organizations (e.g., Pharmacy Guild of Australia, National Community Pharmacists Association USA, Associação Nacional das Farmácias Portugal, Irish Pharmacy Union), while affiliate membership is open to companies and organizations with an interest in community pharmacy, including MSD, Pfizer, MedAdvisor Solutions, Arrotex Pharmaceuticals, Surescripts, and EY. There are no individual memberships. The organization does not develop proprietary technology; its activities are advocacy, research, and convening rather than product or platform delivery, and it has no AI/ML capabilities, API, or commercial product revenue stream.

WPC has expanded its membership footprint materially between 2024 and 2026, adding the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada (January 2024), the Association of Finnish Pharmacies (November 2025), and the Japan Pharmaceutical Association (February 2026). Leadership transitioned in 2025 with the appointment of Andrew Topen as Secretary General (February 2025) and Professor Trent Twomey as President (November 2025), succeeding Douglas Hoey who moved to Vice President.

Name

World Pharmacy Council

Legal name

World Pharmacy Council

Website

https://worldpharmacycouncil.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

World Pharmacy Council is a non-profit international association of national community pharmacy organizations across 14 countries, providing OECD-level advocacy, annual Sector Analysis Reports, position statements, and the annual Pharmintercom conference to advance community pharmacy's role in healthcare systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmacy Association and Healthcare Advocacy

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail & Community Pharmacies (Chain/Independent) (HLAFALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Multilateral Global Health Partnerships (UN/WHO-led Initiatives) (HLAJAOAA)

Keywords

• Community pharmacy advocacy
• Pharmacy association services
• Health policy research
• Sector analysis reports
• International pharmacy coalition

Headquarters

HQ city

Canberra

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The World Pharmacy Council is an international membership association of national community pharmacy organizations from 14 countries. It produces annual sector analysis reports, policy position statements on pharmacy issues (vaccination, dispensing funding, medicines shortages, healthcare resilience), development guides, and convenes the annual Pharmintercom conference to enable international advocacy, knowledge sharing, and policy engagement with bodies such as the OECD.

Product overview

The World Pharmacy Council operates as a non-profit international organization rather than a technology product company. Its offerings consist of annual research publications (Sector Analysis Reports spanning 2018-2025), policy/position statements on key pharmacy issues (vaccination, dispensing funding, medicines shortages, healthcare resilience), development guides for pharmacy services, a fellowship/alumni membership program, and annual conferences (Pharmintercom). These publications and programs support community pharmacy organizations globally in advocacy, policy development, and professional collaboration across 14 member countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WPC Sector Analysis Report Annual comprehensive report providing an overview of community pharmacy practice, regulation, trends, opportunities, research and statistics focused primarily on WPC member countries. Targeted at member associations, policymakers, and pharmacy stakeholders.
• Position Statement: Pharmacy-Based Vaccination Official position statement on pharmacy-based vaccination services, outlining calls to action for governments regarding community pharmacy's role in vaccination programs. Audience includes governments, health ministries, and national pharmacy associations.
• Position Statement: Dispensing and Core Funding Position statement addressing the critical clinical service of dispensing and the need for proper funding of community pharmacy services. Targeted at policymakers and pharmacy associations.
• Position Statement: Medicines Shortages Comprehensive position statement addressing global medicine shortages, community pharmacy's role in mitigating impacts, and recommended policy measures. Audience includes governments, regulators, and supply chain stakeholders.
• Position Statement: Community Pharmacy is Key to Resilient Healthcare Systems Position statement emphasizing community pharmacy's vital role in building resilient, adaptable, and high-performance healthcare systems. Targeted at governments, health ministries, and international health bodies.
• Vaccination Services in Community Pharmacies Comprehensive report and development guide examining the development of vaccination services in pharmacies, including their contribution to COVID-19 pandemic response and guidance for establishing vaccination services. Targeted at national pharmacy associations and policymakers.
• WPC Fellowship and Alumni Membership Program Distinguished membership program conferring the award of Fellow of the World Pharmacy Council (FWPC) to individuals with strong engagement history with WPC or Pharmintercom. Targeted at individual pharmacy leaders and advocates.
• Pharmintercom Annual Conference Annual international conference bringing together community pharmacy organizations to share information, discuss issues, and advance the role of community pharmacy globally. Targeted at delegates from national pharmacy associations across member countries.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 consecutive annual sector analysis reports published (2018-2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Business at OECD (BIAC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019World Pharmacy Council is an Associate Expert Group member of Business at OECD (BIAC), specifically in the Associate Expert Group on Health since 2019. This membership provides access to meetings, global fora, and consultations with OECD leadership, senior government officials, committees and related working groups. The WPC engages with the OECD Health Division to ensure community pharmacy's voice contributes to OECD policy development.
• MSDminorOthersListed as an affiliate member of the World Pharmacy Council. MSD is a pharmaceutical company that supports the WPC community pharmacy mission.
• MedAdvisor SolutionsminorOthersListed as an affiliate member of World Pharmacy Council. MedAdvisor presented at Pharmintercom 2023 on their world-leading efforts to improve medication adherence through technology and data.
• Arrotex PharmaceuticalsminorOthersListed as an affiliate member of the World Pharmacy Council.
• Ernst & Young (EY)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGuest presenter at Pharmintercom 2023, presenting on a framework for estimating the value of community pharmacy services, building on work done in Australia.
• International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPC acknowledges FIP as the organiser of World Pharmacists Day and collaborates on promoting pharmacy recognition globally.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Pharmacy Association (UK): UK trade association for community pharmacy owners. NPA European Representative Nick Kaye sits on WPC's Board; NPA and WPC share a community-pharmacy-owner advocacy mission at national vs. international level.
• International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP): Global federation representing pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists worldwide; structurally the closest peer to WPC as an international umbrella for national pharmacy bodies. WPC already acknowledges FIP as the organizer of World Pharmacists Day and collaborates with it on global pharmacy recognition.
• Pharmacy Guild of Australia: Australian national community pharmacy association and WPC founding member; WPC President Trent Twomey is its National President. Guild operates comparable advocacy, research, and member services focused on community pharmacy owners.
• Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU): European regional association representing community pharmacists at the EU level; mirrors WPC's community-pharmacy advocacy model at a regional scope, with similar engagement with EU institutions that parallels WPC's OECD engagement.
• Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA): Canadian national pharmacy advocacy body representing pharmacists across practice settings; comparable to WPC as a national umbrella for pharmacy policy and advocacy, and a peer of WPC's Canadian member Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada.
• National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA): US trade association for independent community pharmacy owners. WPC's Vice President Douglas Hoey is its CEO, making NCPA one of the most operationally linked peer organizations to WPC's advocacy work.
• Associação Nacional das Farmácias (ANF): Portuguese national pharmacy association and WPC member; WPC Secretary Ema Paulino is its President. ANF operates comparable community-pharmacy advocacy and member services at national level, with notable leadership overlap with WPC.

Emerging players

• Commonwealth Pharmacists Association: International pharmacy organization covering Commonwealth countries with a development-focused mission; comparable to WPC as a smaller-scope international pharmacy body, though focused more on capacity-building than OECD-level policy advocacy.

Broad incumbents

• American Pharmacists Association (APhA): US national professional society for pharmacists across all practice settings, broader in scope than WPC's community-pharmacy-only focus but operating in the same pharmacy advocacy and policy space at significant scale.
• International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA): Global federation of pharmaceutical industry associations; broader in scope than WPC but comparable as a Geneva-based international health-policy advocate that engages OECD, WHO, and national governments — and one of WPC's affiliate-member employers' global body.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/worldpharmacycouncil
• Xx.com/wpharmcouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/worldpharmacycouncil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about World Pharmacy Council