With concerns over the influence of offering gifts to medical professionals by pharmaceutical companies surging, the Department of Pharmaceutical (DoP) has asked the pharmaceutical industry to step up efforts at self-regulation or it will be compelled to bring in a law to regulate promotional practices in the pharmaceuticals industry. The DoP secretary held a meeting on 23 December to review the implementation of the uniform code of pharmaceutical marketing practices (UCPMP) which is being voluntarily adopted by the pharmaceutical companies since 2015.
Following recent complaints of unethical marketing practices by pharmaceutical companies, a committee is likely to be set up by the DoP which will keep a strict vigil on any such violations, shared one of the persons attending the meeting.
The DoP secretary has told both the domestic and multinational pharma lobby groups along with the medical device industry to “strictly” comply with the code of ethics, added the same people. The pharma lobby groups and the medical devices lobby group have been asked to share their comments on the issue within a week.
“A committee is also likely to be set up by the DoP pharma to check on any such violations by the pharma companies in future,” added another person. Chaired by the DoP pharma, the meeting was also attended by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Auhtority (NPPA) chairperson Shubhra Singh and senior officials in the DoP.
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The meeting was necessitated following a recent study by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Sathi (Support for Advocacy and Training to Health Initiatives), which claimed that “promotional practices of the pharmaceutical industry and implementation of status of related regulatory codes in India lacked credibility”. It revealed that medical representatives disclosed widespread use of bribes, including foreign trips, microwave ovens, expensive . smartphones, jewellery and even women, by pharmaceutical companies.
The report also revealed that medical representatives (MRs) talked of the tremendous pressure exerted by companies on them through high sales targets. The report is based on in depth interviews with 50 MRs, areas sales managers, allopathic and Ayush doctors and pharma executives from six cities conducted last year.
Simultaneously, earlier this month another non government organisation also blamed well-known Swiss drug maker for providing inducements in the form of honorariums for participation in conferences, travel assistance, accomodaion, food expenses, all of which are strictly prohibited under the UCPMP as well as the Indian Medical Council (Professional conduct, Etiquette and Ethics), Regulations 2002. A complaint in this regard was sent to the DoP.
The DoP has been dragging its feet on the draft legislation aimed at increasing transparency in financial relationships between healthcare providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers as well as deterring unethical practices since 2016. According to the UCPMP, no gifts, pecuniary advantages or benefits in kind may be supplied, offered or promised to persons qualified to prescribe or supply drugs, by a pharmaceutical company or any of its agents i.e. distributors, wholesalers, retailers, etc.
Gifts for the personal benefit of healthcare professionals and family members, both immediate and extended, such as tickets to entertainment events, are also not to be offered or provided. However, there has been no headway on the proposed legislation.
The government had in 2011 come out with the voluntary marketing code and its amended version in 2015 following complaints of unethical marketing practices, like bribing doctors and pharmacists through foreign junkets, gifts and other incentives. However, voluntary code has failed to deter unethical practices.
“The Pharma secretary also warned that if there are more violations that come to the light in future, the department will be compelled to make it UCPMP mandatory, which has penal provisions for the violators,” added the second person, quoted above.
Source: The Economic Times
