A PCD pharma franchise in India is a trade arrangement, not a licence category. A pharma marketing company gives a distributor the right to promote and sell its branded medicines in an agreed territory, usually a district. The distributor still needs its own wholesale drug licence.
- Licence: wholesale licences in Form 20B and Form 21B, applied for on Form 19. The fee is ₹1,500 per form under Rule 59(2), so ₹3,000 for both.[1]
- Premises and staff: at least 10 m² for wholesale, and a competent person (a registered pharmacist, or a graduate with one year’s experience in drugs).[2]
- Cost: there is no official “franchise fee”. The real cost is licence fees, premises and storage, the competent person’s salary and the company’s opening order. Get the opening order in writing.
What PCD means and how the model works
PCD stands for Propaganda-cum-Distribution, often written as Propaganda-cum-Distributorship. The term comes from the trade, not from law. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules do not define it, so the franchise is governed by two things: the distributor’s own drug licence and the agreement it signs with the company.
In practice, the company (the “marketer” whose name is printed on the label) arranges manufacture, supplies the products and gives promotional material. The franchisee promotes the range to doctors in its territory, supplies chemists, and holds the territory rights the agreement grants. How PCD compares with third-party manufacturing and running your own plant is covered in Pharma business models in India: PCD vs third party vs own plant.
Online lead portals and territory rights. B2B marketplaces and PCD directories pass distributor and buyer enquiries to many companies at once. If your agreement grants district monopoly, it should also say how the company handles orders from your district that arrive through those portals. Otherwise the monopoly is hard to enforce.
Licences you need to start a PCD pharma franchise
Your State Licensing Authority grants these licences under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. The core conditions are central rules, but each state sets its own portal, checklist and inspection practice. The table uses the Delhi and Nagaland drug-control documents as worked examples.
| Requirement | What applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale licence | Form 20B covers drugs other than Schedule C, C(1) and X. Form 21B covers Schedule C and C(1) drugs, excluding X. Schedule X drugs need Form 20G. The application is made on Form 19 (Form 19C for Schedule X). | [1] |
| Fee | ₹1,500 per form under Rule 59(2), which is ₹3,000 for 20B plus 21B. Nagaland’s checklist lists the same ₹3,000 for a wholesale licence. | [1] [3] |
| Keeping it valid | Retention fee every 5 years. Delhi’s fee schedule charges the fee plus 2% of the licence fee per month of delay if retention is paid late. | [1] [3] |
| Premises | At least 10 m² for wholesale, and at least 15 m² where retail and wholesale licences share premises. Height must follow the National Building Code. | [2] |
| Competent person | A registered pharmacist; or a graduate with 1 year’s experience in dealing with drugs; or a matriculate with 4 years’ experience in the sale of drugs. | [2] |
| Storage | Proof of cold storage for products that need it (Nagaland’s wholesale checklist). | [3] |
| Company letter | Nagaland’s checklist asks for an NOC for stockistship from the manufacturing unit or company. In a PCD deal, that letter comes from the franchisor. | [3] |
| GST | A GSTIN. PCD companies invoice registered distributors, so register before the first order. | Trade practice |
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
PCD pharma franchise cost: what goes into the number
People searching for a company’s franchise cost (Leeford is the most common example in our search data) usually expect a fixed fee. Large PCD companies generally do not publish one. Leeford Healthcare’s website, for example, lists its divisions but no franchise fee or investment figure (checked October 2026).[7] What you actually spend has five parts:
- Licence fees₹3,000 for Forms 20B and 21B, then retention every 5 years.[1]
- Premises and storageRent for at least 10 m², racks, and a refrigerator if the range includes cold-chain products.
- Competent personSalary for a pharmacist or a qualified, experienced person, unless you qualify yourself.
- Opening orderThe minimum first purchase the company sets. This is the number most people mean by “franchise cost”, so get it in the offer letter.
- Promotion and working capitalVisual aids and samples (who pays is a contract term), travel to doctors, and credit you extend to chemists.
Samples are now capped. Under the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices 2024 (UCPMP), samples go only to people qualified to prescribe. Each pack is limited to three patients’ dosage, no prescriber gets more than 12 packs of a drug a year, and samples are capped at 2% of the company’s domestic sales. Gifts for a healthcare professional’s personal benefit are not allowed.[5] Plan your launch around this, not around the gift-led promotion of a decade ago. The MR side is covered in Role of a medical representative and the UCPMP 2024 rules.
How to evaluate a PCD company before you sign
- Who makes the product. Since 1 March 2021, a marketer who sells a drug made by another manufacturer is responsible for its quality and regulatory compliance along with the manufacturer. The marketer’s name and address must also appear on the label.[4] Check that the label names both.
- The marketing agreement. The same amendment requires a written agreement between the marketer and the manufacturer.[4] Ask whether one exists for the products you will sell. A clause-by-clause guide is in Agreement for marketing format under Rule 84D.
- The manufacturer’s licence and GMP status. Revised Schedule M was notified on 28 December 2023. It already applies to manufacturers that did not seek an extension. For MSMEs that applied for one, the effective date was 1 January 2026, and in November 2025 the DCGI asked states to inspect.[6] Ask for the manufacturing licence copy and the latest GMP certificate. Our Revised Schedule M status and checklist explains what that status means (position checked 27 October 2026).
- Territory in writing. District or state, which product divisions it covers, and what happens to orders from your area that come through other channels.
- Opening order, price list and payment terms. The minimum order, distributor price versus MRP, credit period and dispatch time, all stated in writing.
- Expiry and returns. Whether near-expiry stock can be returned or replaced, and on what terms.
- Promotional material. Visual aids and literature that stay within UCPMP 2024, and who pays for samples.[5]
- Exit terms. Notice period, return of unsold stock and handover of the territory if either side ends the arrangement.
Well-known PCD companies: what a primary source confirms
The 2023 version of this page profiled six PCD companies with product counts and quality claims we cannot verify today. This table keeps only what a primary source shows. It is not a ranking or an endorsement.
| Company | What a primary source confirms | Franchise cost published? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leeford Healthcare Ltd | Corporate office in Ludhiana, Punjab. Divisions on its site: Healthcare, Wellness, Cosmacia, Esencia, Medisciences. | No (October 2026) | [7] |
| Zee Laboratories Ltd | Registered and manufacturing address: Industrial Area, Paonta Sahib, Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh (Railway Board product list, May 2025). | Not checked | [8] |
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
The earlier version also profiled Aval Lifesciences, Chandra Medicare (with Narench Biotech and Wystan Lifesciences named as its divisions) and Symbiosis Pharmaceutical. We could not open an official company source for them in October 2026, so those details were withdrawn rather than repeated. Ask any of them directly for licence copies and written terms.
Disclosure: Laafon Galaxy Pharmaceuticals, which publishes this page, also offers PCD franchises.
Comparing PCD offers?
Laafon Galaxy publishes its PCD terms, therapy range and open districts on one page. Put them side by side with the checklist above.
See Laafon Galaxy’s PCD franchise termsFrequently asked questions
PCD stands for Propaganda-cum-Distribution, also written Propaganda-cum-Distributorship. It is a trade term for a distributor who both promotes a company’s brands to doctors and distributes them in an agreed territory. It is not a licence category under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules.
Yes. The franchisee stocks and sells medicines, so it needs wholesale licences in Form 20B and Form 21B from the State Licensing Authority. It applies on Form 19, with premises of at least 10 square metres and a competent person such as a registered pharmacist.
There is no regulated franchise fee. The fixed official cost is the wholesale licence fee of Rs 1,500 per form (Rs 3,000 for Forms 20B and 21B). The rest is premises rent and storage, the competent person’s salary, promotion, working capital and the company’s minimum opening order, which each company sets and should state in writing.
Leeford Healthcare’s own website lists its divisions but publishes no franchise fee or investment figure (checked October 2026). Figures quoted on directory sites are not from the company. Ask Leeford, or any PCD company, for the minimum opening order, price list and territory terms in a written offer.
Since 1 March 2021, under G.S.R. 101(E), a marketer that sells a drug made by another manufacturer is responsible for its quality and regulatory compliance along with the manufacturer. In a PCD arrangement, that is the company whose name is on the label, not the franchisee.
Only within UCPMP 2024. Samples may go only to people qualified to prescribe. Each pack is limited to three patients’ dosage, no more than 12 packs of a drug per prescriber per year, and the company’s total samples are capped at 2% of its domestic sales. Gifts for a doctor’s personal benefit are not permitted.
Related on Laafon
References
- Drugs Control Department, Government of NCT of Delhi. Forms and fees (sale licences under Rule 59). New Delhi. Available from: drugs.delhi.gov.in. Accessed October 2026.
- Drugs Control Department, Government of NCT of Delhi. Grant of wholesale licence: conditions and documents. New Delhi. Available from: drugs.delhi.gov.in. Accessed October 2026.
- Government of Nagaland. Procedure and checklist for drug licence (wholesale and retail). Kohima; 2025. Available from: eodb.nagaland.gov.in. Accessed October 2026.
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. G.S.R. 101(E), Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Rules, 2020 (marketer definition; Rules 84D and 84E; Rule 96). Gazette of India; 11 Feb 2020, in force 1 Mar 2021. Available from: cdsco.gov.in. Accessed October 2026.
- Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India. Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) 2024. New Delhi; 12 Mar 2024. Available from: pharma-dept.gov.in. Accessed October 2026.
- Press Trust of India. DCGI orders inspections of pharma units to ensure compliance with revised Schedule M norms. The Week; 10 Nov 2025 (secondary source reporting the DCGI letter of 7 Nov 2025). Available from: theweek.in. Accessed October 2026.
- Leeford Healthcare Ltd. Divisions (company website). Ludhiana. Available from: leeford.in. Accessed October 2026.
- Railway Board (Health Directorate), Ministry of Railways. Revised product list of M/s Zee Laboratories Limited. New Delhi; May 2025. Available from: indianrailways.gov.in. Accessed October 2026.
This page is technical and educational information for pharma trade professionals. It is not legal or investment advice. Drug licensing conditions are applied by each State Licensing Authority, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules are amended often, so confirm current requirements with your state drugs control office before you apply or sign an agreement.