×

UPSC Courses

DNA banner

DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

  • 24 August, 2022

  • 7 Min Read

Standard Operating Procedures for Pharmaceutical Mkt

Standard Operating Procedures for Pharmaceutical Marketing

The Dolo-650 tablet manufacturers have been charged by the Central Board for Direct Taxes (CBDT) with spending Rs 1,000 crore on gifts for doctors who prescribe the medication.

Background:

  • The dispute arose after income-tax raids on Bengaluru-based pharmaceutical company Micro Labs, which produces the well-known paracetamol brand Dolo-650.

Problem:

  • It appears that drugmakers' marketing is driven by gift-giving, including free meals, drug samples, and promotional goods. This is a marketing strategy that is well-established in the sector.

Supreme Court case:

A petition asking for guidance from the Centre to give UCPMP a legislative foundation and make it functional, transparent, and accountable is being heard by the Supreme Court.

  • The Uniform Agreement of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), a voluntary code that is enforced by pharmaceutical groups and corporations, has been guiding pharmaceutical companies' marketing strategies since 2015.
  • Currently, pharmaceutical companies, medical representatives, agents of pharmaceutical companies, such as distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, as well as pharmaceutical manufacturer's associations, are all subject to the UCPMP Code.

Pharma Marketing Unethical Practices

  • To entice doctors to recommend "their drugs," pharmaceutical companies provide them with gifts in kind and cash.
  • Aiding doctors with activities to improve their reputation, such as assisting with the publication of articles and conference speaking, etc.
  • Making doctors lead investigators in clinical trials or pay them well to serve on committees.
  • The international experience also demonstrates that the voluntary code is ineffective.

Way Forward

  • As the UCPMP has not shown to be an adequate code for ethical marketing, it should be made into law.
  • The newly proposed Drugs, Medical Devices, and Cosmetics Act ought to include ethical marketing and promotion.
  • The public should be able to obtain periodic disclosures of payments made by businesses to doctors and professional organizations, whether those payments were made directly or indirectly through other parties.
  • These disclosures ought to be regular and made available to the public.
  • The amount, reason for the expense, and party who was paid should all be disclosed.

Also, Read - Kerala Savari

Source: The Hindu


Geopolitical Significance of Ports

Geopolitical Significance of Ports (IR)  Act as geopolitical assets: Ports enhance the projection of strategic reach, which helps strengthen the country’s control over important sea and energy supply routes.  E.g. Indian Navy’s staging base at Agalega Islands will enable marine patrols

SPACE VEHICLE - PSLV & GSLV - Space ORBITS

SPACE VEHICLE - PSLV & GSLV - Space ORBITS (S&T) GS PAPER-3 India has one of the world's most effective and active space programmes, with a diverse set of missions and accomplishments in the space sector. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is India's primary space agency located in Bangalore. It has made sign

Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana

Recently, Prime Minister announced Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana under which 1 crore households will get rooftop solar power systems. India’s Status of Current Solar Capacity India currently stands at 4th place globally in solar power capacity. As per Ministry of New an

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)- NGO 

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) registration of two prominent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and World Vision India (WVI) have been cancelled this month. What is FCRA? Key provisions of FCRA, 2010 Key aspects Description

Voice clone-AI

Voice clone fraud has been on the rise in India. AI voice cloning – It is the process of creating a synthetic replica of a person’s voice through machine learning and speech synthesis technology.It is called as voice deepfakesor audio deepfakes. Objective – To achieve a high level of na

Toppers

Search By Date

Newsletter Subscription
SMS Alerts

Important Links

UPSC GS Mains Crash Course - RAW Prelims Answer Key 2024