Background
Pharmacy has been developing in this region for a long time, particularly in the form of the called folk-pharmacy. Formal education of pharmacists began in 1918 in European capitals, which facilitated the development of the profession and the opening of public pharmacies.
In 1948, private pharmacies in Banja Luka were transferred in state ownership as city pharmacies. At the time, there were only 4 of them. After the integration processes in 1966, the Banja Luka pharmacies, at the time called The Pharmaceutical Service, were integrated in the Banja Luka Medical Centre, as one of its operational units with 5 pharmacies.
A few years later, Banja Luka was struck by an earthquake, and the Pharmaceutical Service buildings collapsed or were severely damaged. Despite the hard situation, the work went on incessantly in tents, trailers, barracks and damaged buildings. In the following period, pharmacies were built anew or rehabilitated. Some ten years later, the pharmacies were constituted as a Principal Joint Labour Unit, which was later joined by pharmacies in neighbouring municipalities.
In 1990, thepharmacies were separated as independent legal entities, under the name of Labour Organization (LO Banja Luka Pharmacy). During the war, two pharmacies were organized as humanitarian pharmacies, were drugs were given free of charge to all jeopardized categories of the population, with the assistance of religious communities.
From 1994 to this day, the LO Pharmacy has changed its status several times. After being organized as an RS reference health institution under the name Banja Luka Pharmaceutical Institution, the Government declared it an institution of particular interest for the Republic and became its founder. Soon after that, a decision was adopted to approve statutory changes in the Banja Luka Pharmaceutical Institution, by its merger to Hemofarmd.o.o. Banja Luka.
New drugs regulations at the BH level however make the production of drugs contingent upon its separation from retailing, and the exclusion of pharmacies from the production line and the Hemofarmd.o.o. as their founder was implemented soon after that. MOJAapoteka Banja Luka was established as an independent institution in 2008, and one year later, in line with the new Law on Pharmaceutical Activity, the pharmacies began to operate as a Health Institution MOJAapoteka Banja Luka.
Today, MOJAapotekais the market leader in retailing drugs and accessories in the RS and has the largest pharmaceutical network of 28 pharmacies and several pharmaceutical outposts in the territories of 12 municipalities. The business conduct follows the guidelines of the Good Pharmaceutical Practice and the highest standards of pharmaceutical activity and full commitment to satisfying the needs of our customers and the population.
