New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre to constitute a committee to examine suggestions and recommend measures to the government for preventing pharmaceutical companies from engaging in unethical marketing practices.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order on a petition seeking court-framed guidelines to control and regulate unethical marketing by drug companies until an effective law is in place.
The order follows the Centre’s submission at the 8 September hearing. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court then that the government was setting up a three-member committee. The committee would examine whether a statutory framework is needed to stop pharma companies from offering inducements to doctors and, if so, what form it should take. The government sought two months for the panel to submit its report, which will be placed before the court. The bench had reserved its order and indicated it would issue directions to strengthen the committee’s hand.
Five-year-old petition
The petition was filed in 2021 by the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Associations of India (FMSRAI) and others. It argues that no enforceable law governs how drug companies promote medicines to healthcare professionals. The existing framework regulates doctors but not the companies.
The Indian Medical Council’s 2002 ethics regulations allow a doctor’s licence to be revoked for accepting inducements. The company offering the inducement, however, faces no corresponding statutory penalty. The petitioners argue this gap encourages irrational prescriptions and the promotion of high-cost brands, which violates patients’ right to health under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Questions over UCPMP 2024
The Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), 2024, bars companies from giving gifts, travel and hospitality to healthcare professionals and their families. The bench has repeatedly questioned whether the code has adequate enforcement teeth. It has also noted that the code gives patients no direct statutory remedy.
Senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, appearing for the petitioners, objected to the delay. He pointed out that the Centre had told the court in a 2022 affidavit that a high-level committee under a NITI Aayog member was examining the issue. Nearly four years later, he said, another committee is being proposed.
The Centre has maintained that large pharma companies have largely moved away from such practices and that the problem lies mainly with smaller players. Until a decision is taken on the committee’s recommendations, UCPMP 2024 will continue to govern pharma marketing.
Industry impact
If the committee recommends a statutory framework, it would mark a shift from voluntary compliance to enforceable obligations for drugmakers. The impact would be felt most by small and mid-sized companies that rely heavily on field-force-driven promotion.
