It was established in the building of the National Association of Pharmacies, in the Santa Catarina district of the Portuguese capital, and was inaugurated in June 1996.

Items include those from the Pre-Columbian era, which identified analgesic and hallucinogenic plants; Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Arab world, which introduced pharmaceuticals that included syrups and other confections that used sugar or honey; the Tibetan approach that valued having a thorough knowledge of the human body; the Middle Ages, which saw the separation of the medical and pharmaceutical professions; and the modern age, which saw the emergence of instruments such as microscopes and thermometers.

Products sold in early Portuguese pharmacies in the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Água de Inglaterra a cure for malaria, are exhibited.

A collection of household remedies is stored in drawers that show the relevant parts of the human body for treatment with the cure contained inside.

[1][2][3][4] In addition, the museum focuses on important Portuguese chemists, such as Odette Ferreira who played a significant role in identifying the HIV-2 virus.