Can a Hong Kong pharmaceutical licence be transferred or licensed to a third party?

No. Hong Kong pharmacy and poisons licences are non-transferable. A licence is issued to a specific applicant (an individual or company) and is linked to the specific premises, key personnel and Quality Management System submitted with the application. The regulatory authority’s decision is based on an assessment of the overall compliance capability of that specific applicant. Therefore, if a company holding a pharmaceutical licence is acquired by another company, or a pharmacy business is sold to a new operator, the new owner or operator must submit a completely new licence application to the regulatory authority in its own name. It must demonstrate that it can also meet all statutory requirements. The old licence ceases to be valid when the business changes hands. Similarly, a licence holder must not “licence” or “lend” its licence to a third party to operate a medicines business in the third party’s name; this is a serious violation.