JV Pharma

JV Pharma combines two businesses that are normally separate: a chain of community pharmacies and the wholesale operation that supplies medicines to them and to others. Its head office and warehouse are at Navi Buildings on Pantar Road in Lija, a village in the middle of the island, and its pharmacies serve towns in both Malta and Gozo.

It appears in our directory of pharmacies in Malta. Anyone moving to Malta, running a business that needs pharmaceutical supply, or simply wanting to understand how medicines reach a local pharmacy will find this group a useful reference point.

From one pharmacy to a national group

The company was founded in 1991 by managing director Jojo Grima, a University of Malta pharmacy graduate who had worked as a medical representative. At 27 he bought his first pharmacy, in Swieqi, convinced that a network of pharmacies could keep the personal service of the local pharmacist.

By 2004 the group had bought three more outlets and set up a central purchasing structure, and it obtained a pharmaceutical wholesale dealer licence. In 2008 it moved to a larger warehouse in Lija, and another pharmacist, Damian Stellini, set up the subsidiary JV Healthcare to import pharmaceutical products for the Maltese market. The group marked thirty years in 2021.

The business is therefore both a retailer and part of the national pharmaceutical supply chain, which sets it apart from a single independent shop. For travellers, the group matters mostly because its branches in Swieqi, Paola and Valletta are listed on this site.

Wholesale, import and brands

Today JV Pharma and JV Healthcare work together on importing, wholesaling and distributing pharmaceutical products, both in Malta and abroad. The company represents a range of healthcare and pharmaceutical brands, from over-the-counter and prescription products to medical devices and food supplements, and a support team answers queries from customers.

Facts the group publishes about itself include more than thirty years of experience, over eighty employees, more than seventy healthcare professionals providing services in its pharmacies, and over twenty-five specialist services across the network. Roughly two thirds of the workforce are women.

Wholesale customers and healthcare professionals can reach the group about supply, brands and distribution, and a careers section covers jobs across the pharmacy and wholesale teams.

What the pharmacies offer

Each branch dispenses prescriptions and sells health products, and many also host visiting clinics, with doctors, healthcare professionals and beauticians invited to rent clinic space. Walk-in screening services at selected branches include blood glucose, urine and blood pressure checks, which do not need an appointment.

Every pharmacy belongs to the Pharmacy of Your Choice scheme, through which patients with chronic conditions collect free government-supplied medicines. For readers new to the system, the group sets out the process in four stages: a hospital or health centre visit, submission of forms to the national approval unit, receipt of entitlement documents, and collection from the registered pharmacy. Collection usually repeats every month for controlled drugs and every two months for other medicines. Entitlement is a matter for the health authorities and your doctor.

Visiting Lija and the middle of the island

Lija is a quiet residential village between Attard and Balzan. Other listings in our directory include nutritionist A New Better Life and mortgage advisers Alecta Advisors. Our Mdina guide and Valletta guide cover the places most visitors want to see from a base here.

If you are moving, our UK guide to relocating to Malta is a good start, with where to stay in Malta and our Malta weather guide for the practicalities. To ask the group a question, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message on. Visiting from the UK? Compare flights to Malta and read things to do in Malta before you go.