The Supreme Court will examine the practice of pharmaceutical companies offering doctors expensive gifts, foreign trips and other benefits to boost the sale of medicines. The court has directed the Centre to constitute a committee to look into the issue.
The committee will examine the concerns raised over the marketing practices adopted by pharmaceutical companies and submit a report. The Supreme Court will hear the matter next on January 29.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta referred to an affidavit filed by the Centre in its order.
During the hearing on August 17, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had placed the affidavit before the court and said that a three-member committee would be constituted to examine the regulation of pharmaceutical companies. The committee will submit its report within two months, following which the government will take a decision.
Who Filed The Petition?
The order has been passed on a petition filed by the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Association of India. Filed in 2021, the petition points out that the government has introduced the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), but it has not been made legally binding.
Plea Seeks Action Against Pharma Companies
The petitioner has sought a mechanism for legal action against pharmaceutical companies that adopt unethical marketing practices.
The petition points out that paragraphs 6 and 7 of the UCPMP prohibit pharmaceutical companies from offering gifts or other benefits to doctors and other persons. However, the code has not been given statutory backing.
The petitioner has also highlighted a discrepancy between the rules applicable to doctors and pharmaceutical companies. While the Indian Medical Council’s 2002 regulations provide for action against doctors who accept gifts, the UCPMP does not prescribe any action against companies that offer such inducements.
The petitioner has argued that this loophole is being misused.
Case Originated From Controversy Over Dolo 650
The petition was filed against the backdrop of questions raised over Dolo 650, one of the medicines widely prescribed by doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The petition alleged that the company offered various inducements to doctors to encourage them to prescribe the medicine. It also alleged that the dosage of paracetamol in Dolo 650 was kept higher than what was required by patients in order to make the medicine more expensive.
The petition further alleged that the pharmaceutical company spent Rs 1,000 crore on offering gifts to doctors and sponsoring their foreign trips.
While hearing the matter on May 1, 2025, the Supreme Court had made an important observation, saying that doctors should be directed to prescribe only generic medicines on their prescriptions.
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