CPEA Urges Centre to Grant Separate Pharma Marketer Licenses from Madurai AGM

Association highlights new drug quality responsibilities and proposes GST reduction to improve medicine affordability.

Madurai, June 13, 2025:

In a significant move at its recent AGM held at the Mepco Mini Auditorium, Madurai-based Chamber of Pharma Entrepreneurs Association (CPEA) has formally requested the union government to issue separate licenses for pharmaceutical marketers, citing increased legal responsibility for drug quality following recent regulatory changes.

The resolution was passed unanimously at the association’s Annual General Body Meeting, where industry leaders voiced concerns over the outdated licensing model. Unlike manufacturers or distributors, marketers promote and distribute their own pharmaceutical brands through contract manufacturing, often without a clear legal identity in the supply chain.

“We promote our own brands. We are not wholesalers or distributors of other companies,” said L.S. Ganesh, General Secretary of CPEA. “We need recognition and a separate licensing framework under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.”

The demand follows a pivotal 2020 amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, effective since March 1, 2021, which legally holds marketers equally responsible for the quality of medicines alongside manufacturers. The amendment mandates marketing agreements and requires companies to clearly display their names and addresses on all product packaging — a clause that CPEA argues warrants regulatory separation.

CPEA members currently operate under licenses 20B and 21B, which were originally intended for wholesalers — not marketers. The association plans to submit a formal memorandum to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) through the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control department.

Push for Simplified GST

In a parallel effort, the association has also reached out to the GST Council, urging a reduction in pharmaceutical GST to 5%, arguing that this move would make essential medicines more affordable for the public.

Expansion and Welfare Initiatives

CPEA is seeing rapid expansion across Tamil Nadu, with active committees forming in Chennai, Trichy, and Sivakasi. The Madurai chapter alone boasts over 210 active members.

As part of its social responsibility mission, the association has:

• Awarded scholarships to three students pursuing higher education
• Launched plans for a free outpatient hospital in a village near Madurai (land already allocated)
• Proposed health insurance coverage for all members
• Continued a benevolent fund that supports bereaved families with ₹2 lakh and accident victims with ₹25,000