Tips to Choose Right Name for New Pharma Company
Tips to Choose the Right Name for New Pharma Company – Are you in the dilemma of choosing a name for your new pharma company? Are you looking for the best tips to choose the right name for your new pharma company? If yes, then you do not have to look further. Your name reflects your services and plays a great role in the business’s success. Here, we have brought you simple and effective tips that you can use while naming your new pharma company.
Indian pharmaceutical sector is one of the most prominent economies today. With a local market of USD 60.32 billion in 2026 to USD 79.74 billion in 2031 (at a 5.74% CAGR), this industrial hub comprises over 3000 firms and is responsible for exports to 190+ countries amounting to USD 30.5 billion. The industry consists of over 10,500 manufacturing units across the country.
Table of Contents
The Ultimate Guide to Naming a Pharmaceutical Company in India
Pharma is one of the fastest growing and leading companies not only in our native country but worldwide. The reason behind this is the increasing awareness and use of pharma products and medicines. Starting a new pharma company is one hectic thing to do ranging from the investments to the setting up, maintenance, and much more. But what is even more important is the naming of the newly set up business. Now, establishing a presence, getting it noticed, making it memorable, winning consumer trust, and most importantly, clearing regulatory procedures aren’t exactly child’s play. There are key regulations that you would need to consider before finalising a name.
For many industries, the cost of choosing a wrong name may simply amount to re-branding, but the cost of choosing a wrong name in the Indian pharma sector could translate into an application rejection and possibly costly court proceedings or even a cause of an unfortunate patient safety issue due to confused names for drugs.
How to Select a Name For Your Company, MCA, & Others
A small typo in the company name could cause your company to become more than a brand issue – the name may result in a regulatory standstill, a trademark dispute and, in the most harmful instances, a safety risk, should your company’s name resemble that of a pre-registered medicine or producers. Legal & regulatory compliance required before you can choose the name of your company. You cannot be so deeply in love with a company name that it must also be able to pass three other obstacles before registration, particularly with pharmaceutical companies.
MCA naming regulations
If there is a possibility of a similarly worded company existing with the same name, you must make sure you check for the short name with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs-run service.
Similar to that, names relating to government and drug activity such as ‘Doctor’ or ‘Ayurvedic Board’ are not allowed for Pharmaceutical Names.
Trademark Class 5 Search
A trademark is a sign or a set of symbols, words, or any recognisable design that a company uses to identify and distinguish its products or services from others in the marketplace. A trademark protects the names, logos, and other graphic representations of an organisation to prevent other companies from confusing customers by using similar identification. Trademark Class 5 applies to drugs for human use, medical supplies, and supplements. This is one of the more problematic areas of trademark application.
As it turns out, there are so many trademarks registered in this class each year, it is common for some names to clash with established businesses. Your business’s name may seem to follow all guidelines from the Companies Act; however, there are still possible trademark infringements in the form of an established trademark in class 5.
State Drug Control and CDSCO Verification
You have a limited number of names once they have been cleared through MCA and are verified for the state or central drug control organisation for the manufacture of medicines and drugs.
For state drug control or the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, there are no companies that are licensed and using names which are very similar to your selected names. They have their separate checks, which could result in a halt on your drug license if you use a similar name.
Why does the Name of a Pharma Company Matter?
Choosing the right pharma company name guarantees no-nonsense approval with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) name reservation, trademark, the drug license from the state drug control, and last, but not least, the acceptance of the masses: chemists, doctors, patients. On the other hand, it guarantees rejected name reservations, denied drug applications, court cases and the same name on multiple drugs.
13 Tips to Choose the Right Pharma Company Name
Choosing a name for your company is the hardest thing to do for a variety of reasons. Your name should be attractive and creative enough to attract customers. People often find it hard to trust a new brand or business but a good name can make it easy for them to try your services once. If you are struggling to find a name for your business then we have brought you the best methods to follow.
1. Address the Legal Requirements First
The first step is to ensure compliance with the MCA and the restricted word searches. There are many start-ups that spend weeks selecting a name after failing to consider the Legal Requirements at an earlier stage.
2. Carry out thorough research on trademarks under Class 5.
Avoid simply checking with the company registry. Search AstraySearch and check on Trademarks under Class 5 of the IP India company trademark register
3. Avoid use of ‘Look-Alike, Sound-Alike’ (LASA) names
This is more applicable to the Healthcare Sector. The regulatory authorities across the world, including the CDSCO (India) and the WHO, are actively collecting medicine errors attributed to the mix-up of names of drugs or of companies with a likeable and similar name.
Two astronomical studies demonstrate that mix-ups of similar names were at the core of prescribed and supplied drugs/medicine at various points of history across the world.
It is therefore imperative to check the selected names against an existing database of drug and brand names, not only the company registries
4. Aim for easy and Short names
Try to have short names, as it caters to a diversified population. India is a multi-cultural, multi-linguistic country, and your team members- doctors, chemists, and patients take a liking and share more than one language in addition to the primary language of communication, which is English. A name that is easy to remember in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, and Tamil and not solely in English will have a wider reach. Ideally, the name can be 2-3 syllables. Keeping the name short and simple works perfectly for every kind of business in the market. While choosing the name of your company make sure that it is short and does not match any other reputed Pharma company. A duplicate name or almost the same name can cause more harm than the benefit.
5. Choose Names that Facilitate Rapid Future Growth.
Don’t name the company based upon the molecule or the therapeutic category, such as XYZ Diabetes Care Pvt. Ltd. The Indian market is diversifying rapidly, with the oncology segment growing at more than 8% CAGR, biosimilars at over 22% CAGR, and injectables at over 7% until 2031.
6. Plan for export from day 1
India accounts for 20 per cent of the global share of generic medicines and holds more number of FDA approved manufacturing plants than any other nation outside the USA. It is best to go for a simple, easy-to-pronounce, and universal name that carries no specific meaning in your region. Also, you have to verify if the proposed name is already registered with any existing pharmaceutical brand. You may use the WIPO Global Brand Database to check the same.
7. Be synonymous with Trust, Science and Safety
It’s great to have names that convey safety, security, a scientific and rational feel of life, living, healthcare, and wellness (Ensure no undue medical claim is being made). But if the name sounds a bit flippant or informal, it might not lend credibility to your venture.
8. Don’t overuse common Pharma buzzwords
Use of ‘Health’, ‘Life’, ‘Bio’, ‘Pharma’ is widespread across trademarks; to overcome such a constraint, you can use one of the buzzwords in combination with a distinct one.
9. Check domain availability and social media presence
A name might pass the MCA and trademark test but still can be a poor name for your company if the matching .com/.in domain name or closely matching alternative name is already registered with a competitor.
10. Take another opinion
Always get another opinion – from an individual who is not a part of your team, be it a Pharmacist, a Doctor, a Distributor, or some random people who are not from the industry. Simply ask, “What do you think this company does, based on the name alone?” Sometimes unintentional meanings/similarities to another culture might be highlighted by an outsider.
11. Stay Flexible For Market and Legislative Changes:
Changes in the laws are imminent, and the industry too is evolving fast. With the advent of initiatives like Biopharma SHAKTI (10,000 crores allotted for this sector) and the PLI program(15,000 crores allotted), the industry is now moving toward complex generics and biologics. Therefore, it is advisable to choose a name which is not only reflective of your brand but also has a broad spectrum, to accommodate changes expected in the industry in the years to come.
12. Validate Everything before your Registration:
After you have prepared your list, it is better to check for the availability of the name on MCA, Class 5 registration status, and domain availability of the best choices, not in isolation, but on an overall basis. This way, you will be able to draw comparisons between the options available and finalise a decision at the earliest.
13. Decide your target audience
The target audience plays a crucial role in the success of your business. Deciding your company name based on the specific group of the audience will have a huge effect on the traffic and results you will receive. Below listed are some of the tips that you can implement while deciding the audience.
- Choose your target audience according to the products you want to sell.
- Include some adjectives and phrases to come up with a nice company name.
- Try to convey the message through the name to the target audience so that they can relate more.
Conclusion
Deciding on a new company name is pretty hard but not when you follow the above-mentioned tips. They will surely help you to come up with a strong and effective name that will further grow your business in every way possible. So, go ahead and bring these methods into practice for better results and growth of your new Pharma business.
Naming your pharmacy in India needs a delicate balance of various factors like brand perception, regulatory compliance, and the well-being of your future patients. Therefore, consider this as a crucial process, as it would be an application for regulatory approval – verify the legal status of the chosen name, consider registering it as a trademark, check for potential confusion with other company names or similar-sounding medicines, and thereafter consider brand positioning. The name that passes all these checks will offer the company a crucial edge in a sector of a burgeoning pharmaceutical market.
Frequently Asked Questions on Choosing a Proper Name for a New Pharma Company:
1. Should I name my pharmacy by my name, or should it be a ‘scientific’ one?
Certainly, yes, most successful pharmacies in India have their name either with the owner’s or the founder’s name. More critically, it should not appear to make fake therapeutic claims rather than merely sound scientific. Generally, a name comprising a personal name with a designation like ‘Laboratories’ or ‘Pharma’ comes best.
2. How long does it take to get approval for a company name in India?
The RUN approval can be within a few days in case the name is distinct and has no conflict with MCA records or trademark records. In case of rejection due to similarity in the first name, you lose about a week. Searching prior names can save your time.
3. Will it be problematic to get the name the same as a drug brand rather than other companies?
It would be problematic, as under company law, the name is compared with other companies’ names only, but the name can be the same as a brand and could face problems as far as drug licensing and Trademarks are concerned. It will be advisable to check both the company names as well as the Class 5 Trademark.
4. Should I get the trademark registered before the company incorporation?
It is not necessary; we can get the company incorporated first and then apply for the registration of the Trademark. However, it is preferable to check the trademark search before the incorporation so that we do not build brand equity in a name that might be infringing someone.
5. Which regional languages can cause a problem?
The important thing about regional languages is that you must be sure about the meaning in the client’s language. Some Hindi words might have no particular meaning; however, when talking about any of the regional languages, like Tamil, Bengali or Telugu, there can be other meanings of such words. So it is always better to use locals in case you are expanding into any regional language areas.
6. Other than obvious like ‘National’ and ‘Government’ designation words, what else should be avoided?
Other than these words, words like ‘Council’, ‘Board’, ‘Institute’, etc., represent the centre of treatment or a medical institute, etc.
Some of these words are also included in the AYUSH endorsements, and you can check with MCA the list of those words that are banned.
7. Should I put ‘Pharma’ or ‘Pharmaceutical’ in the company name?
No, there is no compulsory requirement for the words to be included. Putting such words would help you connect to the clients, and it is very difficult to get an original name now since a lot of companies already use these words in their company names.
However, you can get many names where the word Pharma is accompanied by another word depicting the business sector.
8. What should I do if I notice any name dispute issues when the company has started to develop?
Exactly the same, you need to do a trademark search and domain check, as it would be painful and costly to change thebrand’sname when you have already created a network of distributors, product designs, packaging and other marketing collateral. If such problems arise, then you should quickly contact a trademark lawyer, as any further delay could be disastrous.