Is Drug License required at marketed by address while setting up Pharmaceutical Marketing Company?

This is the most frequently asked question by new start-ups and new comers starting marketed by company. In this article, we will try to find out whether you will need drug license at address you are showing as marketed by address or not.

There are lot of confusion regarding this matter among pharma professionals. There are no specific guidelines present that can define what genuine way to write marketed by address are. Labelling requirement for marketed by products only states that the name of the marketer and its address shall be mentioned at packaging, in case the drug is marketed by marketer.

This guideline only define mandatory printing of marketer name and marketer’s marketed by address but that doesn’t define whether marketing address could be a address of its marketing/sales office or of premises having drug license number.

Some big pharmaceutical contract manufacturers and third party manufacturers don’t allow marketing companies to put marketed address other than mentioned at their drug license but majority of small and macro sized pharmaceutical manufacturing units allow marketing companies to put address of their choice. But no one has proper clearance at this matter.

Pharmaceutical sector is regulated under drug and cosmetic Act, 1940 & Rules 1945. Manufacturing, Import, sale and distribution is regulated under this act. For carrying out any activity, one has to take specific license for that. For example, for manufacturing: pharmaceutical manufacturing license is required, for sale and distribution: wholesale drug license, for dispensing: Retail drug license etc is required.

Pharmaceutical marketing companies require having wholesale drug license for conducting business in India. Wholesale drug license is issued after inspecting the premises and fulfilment of requirements. Wholesale drug license certificate bears address of premises where pharmaceutical marketing company is located and operating receiving, stocking, selling and distribution of pharmaceutical products.

Wholesale drug license doesn’t mention any sales office or marketing office address. Drug license is mandatory for premises where drugs are stock, exhibit, sell and distributed. No drug can be stored other than licensed premises. But companies can set-up their sales or corporate office any where irrespective of whether they have drug license there or not.

Some small companies also conduct marketing companies by using any distributor’s license and not bother to even take drug license with name of firm they are conducting marketing of drugs. Manufacturers bill to distributor’s license and distributor bill to retailer. A certain percentage is provided to distributor for using his license. But this is not an ethical practice. You should have drug license with name, you want to do marketing of drugs.

Now come to marketed by address;

Best practice for using marketed by address is of using same address that is mentioned at drug license. But that is not good for marketing purpose and in many circumstance it is not practical for small companies to use it. Doctors, distributors, chemist and other health professionals, even patients will consider company as of local. Physiologically, they will consider your drugs as inferior; no matter how much quality drugs you get manufactured.  

That’s the main problem when you mention local address at your products. But somehow if you manage to arrange marketed by address from well known pharmaceutical hubs like Gujarat, Himachal, Uttarakhand then perception about your marketed drugs will be different.

What can you do now?

If we consider, you are using address of any big city at your products; having drug license there is best possible way of using marketed by address. But again it’s not possible for small companies and new starters for managing and bearing expenses of two drug licenses.

Now we will discuss the way that most small and macro sized pharmaceutical marketing companies are using.

These companies either set-up their sales office or rent a shared office for showing their sales/corporate office at location from where they want to print marketed by address. Some companies use their any relative’s home address or other address  showing as an corporate and sales address and print as a marketed by address that provide genuineness to address but not an authenticity.

You can rent an office at less expensive location of city you want to use address. Show it as sales or corporate office. Use that address as a marketed by address but it is short term tactic you can use. As soon as you become able to take drug license at that location, you should proceed for it.

Hope above information is useful for you…

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