New Delhi, October 23: The Department of Pharmaceuticals has set up a committee to examine the rules governing pharmaceutical marketing practices and recommend ways to strengthen oversight, monitoring and enforcement against unethical practices in the sector.
NITI Aayog Member Dr M. Srinivas will chair the committee. Its members are former Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan and Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman and Managing Director of Medanta. The panel must submit its recommendations within two months of its first meeting, after consulting those concerned.
What the committee will examine
Under its terms of reference, the committee will:
- examine all issues relating to unethical pharmaceutical marketing practices;
- assess how well the present monitoring, oversight and enforcement mechanisms work, and identify steps needed for greater transparency, accountability and compliance;
- consider whether the monitoring and regulatory framework needs strengthening, and suggest regulatory, statutory or other measures, along with the legal framework needed to implement them;
- hold discussions with stakeholders, technical and professional experts, institutions and other bodies; and
- make recommendations on any other issue linked to curbing unethical pharmaceutical marketing.
The UCPMP so far
The Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) was introduced in 2015 as a voluntary, industry-led system of self-regulation. It was meant to promote ethical marketing and to govern dealings between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals.
The department later introduced UCPMP 2024, which replaced the 2015 code and strengthened its implementation framework. The 2024 code is currently in force.
The committee’s review will cover how this framework is working and whether changes to the regulatory or legal set-up are needed to curb unethical marketing.
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