Do You Want to Start a Pharmacy Business in India? Obtain Drug License!

Narendra Kumar

04 Dec, 2020

To start a Pharmacy business you will need to choose or create a business idea. While this is an obvious step many people who want their own business don’t have an idea of what to start, they just possess the desire to be an entrepreneur. For budding entrepreneurs, the options are innumerable. An entrepreneur can buy a franchise or purchase an existing business, or look for more ideas to start a business. Once it has been decided on the business that you want to start, the real work begins then. Nowadays online business is burgeoning on a large scale all over the world. Just we need to know some of the most important tips on how to start a business. The pharmaceutical business is spreading widely through either online portals or shops.

You have got the perfect plan, the money as well as the enthusiasm, are you ready? No, not yet, because with everything you also need to take into consideration the legal issues. Your financing decisions and capital budgeting decisions will surely affect the legal structure that you choose.

Getting a Drug License for setting up a Pharmacy Business

Get Licensed

Besides having a licensed pharmacist, you will need a DEA number, a pharmacy license, a number for the NPI and a National Association of Boards of Pharmacy number.

All the pharmacies must obtain a Drug License, which can be easily procured from the State Drug Control Organisation. This body is authorized to grant licenses to the wholesale pharmacies as well as the retail pharmacies. As the drug sales to the consumers are supposed to be tightly controlled, the rate of approval of the retail licenses is quite low, whereas obtaining a license for a wholesale pharmacy is relatively simple. To get the license for your pharmacy, you should have the following documents:

• License application in the prescribed format.
• Cover letter from the applicant mentioning the reasons for starting a pharmacy business.
• Business license (Partnership Deed/ Incorporation certificate etc.)
• Appointment letter of the registered pharmacist.

Other Requirements for Drug license for opening a pharmacy business in India are:

• Meet an attorney- Meeting an attorney will get you in the right legal direction as you are going to start your new business venture. For this, you would require knowing about certain legal formalities that the new business entails. An attorney can prepare you and guide you on the same.
• For starting a medical pharmacy, the shop area should be a minimum of ten square meters. In case the shop has both the retail and wholesale license, the area of the shop should be fifteen square meters.
• The pharmacy must be having all the necessary medical equipment that is required for the setup; the medication should be labeled properly. The shop should contain the necessary refrigerators as required where the drugs can be stored.

Last but not least, Build your own product Base

Get to know about the various other pharmaceutical companies in the industry and decide how you will stock your product and also obtain valuable information about your suppliers as well as competitors. Think about the quantities of your stock, needs, and requirements of your business, and how quickly you can obtain the things that you do not stock regularly.

Understand the customers’ needs as well as requirements. Talk with the community members about what they want and what are they searching for, and what are the things that frustrate them about the current pharmacies in the local area. Ask the physicians what problems they are facing while prescribing or getting medicines for their patients.