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 The National Accreditation Body for Cold Chain Management (NAB-CCM) in collaboration with Industry and Academia is in the process of creating structured awareness and competency development programmes for pharmacists, hospital personnel, retail staff and frontline handlers on Good Storage and Distribution Practices (GSDP).
Dr DY Patil University (School of Pharmacy) has also proposed to extend technical support to NAB-CCM in developing and delivering structured training and certification programs, through its institutional collaboration mechanism or various Teachers Associations.
According to a White Paper recently released by the NAB-CCM, NAB-CCM should initiate a Train-the-Trainer (TTT) programme to accelerate awareness and capability building across the country. NAB-CCM may collaborate with All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) and State Pharmacy Councils to strengthen pharmacist competency in cold chain management. Regulatory Authorities may also facilitate engagement with industry associations such as IDMA to support broader adoption of training and certification initiatives.
White Paper 2026 titled “Strengthening Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management in India” represents the recommendations emerging from discussions held during the 1st Cold Chain Community Meet (CC-CM). The publication is intended to facilitate dialogue, capacity building and continuous improvement in pharmaceutical cold chain management.
The integrity of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products is fundamental to patient safety and public health. As India continues to strengthen its healthcare infrastructure and pharmaceutical supply chain, ensuring proper storage, transportation, monitoring and handling of medicines and vaccines has become increasingly important.
NAB-CCM plans to conduct structured physical training programmes across the country. NAB-CCM is also in the process to establish a vendor certification framework aligned with Good Storage and Distribution Practices (GSDP) principles to assist manufacturers in identifying qualified service providers.
“A standardized end-to-end certification and audit framework should be developed covering manufacturers, transporters, warehouses, wholesalers, retailers, hospitals and cold chain solution providers. NAB-CCM should constitute a multi-stakeholder expert committee to periodically review and strengthen cold chain guidelines and certification frameworks,” according to Sarvesh Chaubey, founder, NAB-CCM.
A mandatory certification or licensing mechanism may be considered for retail and wholesale pharmaceutical establishments and responsible personnel handling temperature-sensitive medicinal products. Regular monitoring, assessment and audits of hospital pharmacy storage facilities should be established to ensure compliance with storage and temperature control requirements.
To achieve sustainable improvements in pharmaceutical cold chain management, stakeholders may consider a phased implementation roadmap:
Phase 1 - Awareness, training, competency development and guideline simplification. Phase 2 - Vendor qualification, certification programs and implementation of standardized monitoring procedures. Phase 3 -Industry-wide adoption of certification frameworks, audit systems and enhanced compliance requirements. Phase 4 - Continuous improvement through periodic reviews, regulatory updates and technology-driven monitoring solutions.
The 1st Cold Chain Community Meet (CC-CM) was organized as a collaborative platform bringing together regulators, pharmaceutical manufacturers, logistics providers, healthcare institutions, academia, industry associations and cold chain experts to deliberate on key challenges and opportunities within the pharmaceutical cold chain ecosystem.
The recommendations contained in this White Paper represent the collective insights and consensus of stakeholders committed to strengthening pharmaceutical cold chain management practices across India.
“NAB-CCM remains dedicated to supporting industry, regulators and healthcare institutions through training, certification, awareness creation and standardization initiatives,” says Chaubey.
Temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products including vaccines, biologics, insulin, specialty drugs, blood products and other critical healthcare products require strict adherence to prescribed storage and transportation conditions throughout their lifecycle.
Despite significant progress in pharmaceutical distribution practices, gaps continue to exist in storage compliance, workforce competency, vendor qualification, hospital handling practices and monitoring of cold chain operations across the supply chain.
Recognizing these challenges, the 1st Cold Chain Community Meet (CC-CM) convened industry stakeholders to discuss opportunities for strengthening India’s pharmaceutical cold chain framework.
The discussions resulted in recommendations focused on regulatory improvements, manufacturer accountability, vendor qualification and certification, workforce training and competency development across all stakeholders, hospital and retail compliance, end-to-end audit and certification frameworks and strengthening Good Storage and Distribution Practices (GSDP).
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