New Delhi: Taking a stern view of pharmaceutical companies allegedly offering expensive gifts, foreign trips, and other freebies to doctors to promote their drugs, the Supreme Court has directed the Central government to constitute a three-member expert committee. This committee has been tasked with studying the marketing practices of pharma companies and recommending a statutory framework to regulate such conduct.
The directive was issued by a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta while hearing a petition filed by the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Associations of India (FMRAI). The petitioners alleged that certain pharmaceutical companies indulge in high-pressure marketing and offer lavish incentives to doctors to influence them into prescribing expensive branded medicines or irrational drug combinations.
While the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, holds doctors accountable and can lead to disciplinary actions—ranging from a formal reprimand to the removal of their names from the medical register—for accepting such incentives, the petitioners argued that there is a significant regulatory gap regarding the pharmaceutical companies providing these benefits.
During the proceedings, the Central government submitted an affidavit acknowledging that while actions can be taken against doctors, there is currently a lack of a clear statutory mechanism under existing laws to directly control and penalise the unethical conduct of pharmaceutical companies.
To bridge this regulatory gap, the Supreme Court ordered the formation of a specialised committee to examine whether a legally binding regulatory regime is necessary for pharmaceutical companies, and if so, what its structure should be. The panel will review various representations and suggest recommendations to the Centre.
The Centre informed the court that until the committee’s report is submitted and the government makes a final decision, the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) 2024 will remain in effect. The court has directed the Central government to file a compliance affidavit detailing the formation and progress of the committee.
The apex court has scheduled the next hearing for the matter on January 29.