The Union government has notified a code outlining strategies to promote pharmaceutical products and curb unethical practices within the sector.
The Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) prohibits companies from organising overseas workshops for healthcare professionals or providing them with accommodation, extravagant meals, or financial incentives.
“No gift should be offered or provided for personal benefit of any healthcare professional or family member (both immediate and extended) by any pharmaceutical company or its agents, i.e. distributors, wholesalers, retailers," the government said in a notification issued on March 12.
It added that companies or their representatives should not offer healthcare professionals and their families travel facilities inside or outside the country, including rail, air, ship, cruise tickets, and paid vacations for attending conferences, seminars, and workshops.
They are prohibited from extending hospitality such as hotel stays, resort accommodation and expensive cuisine to healthcare professionals or their family members.
It also bans the supply of free samples to those who are not qualified to prescribe such products. Each sample should be marked "free medical sample not for sale" and each sample should not be larger than the smallest pack in the market.
Under the guidelines, companies may provide informational and educational material such as books and clinical treatment guidelines, valued at not more than Rs 1,000 per item.
The government said that providing Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) through conferences, seminars and workshops should only be allowed through a well-defined, transparent, and verifiable set of guidelines based on which the pharmaceutical industry may undertake such expenditure.
Various pharmaceutical associations have been instructed to set up an "Ethics Committee for Pharma Marketing Practices” to handle complaints. The company against which a complaint is made should provide supporting evidence even if it thinks the code has not been breached. The committee should render a decision within 90 days of receiving a complaint.
The chief executive officer of a pharmaceutical company will be responsible for adherence to the code and must submit annual self-declaration forms to associations or directly to the government's UCPMP portal. This raises the stakes for leadership accountability.
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