It?s a dose of strong medicine for drug firms. The government is in the process of formulating a new set of ethical marketing guidelines under which if there are any slippages on the part of the firms in this regard, the managing directors and CEOs will be held responsible for them.
Simply put, what this means is that under the new guidelines drug firms will be barred from offering freebies to doctors ? free travel tickets, hotel stay, gifts and hospitality, and the like. If any drug firm is found violating these guidelines, the responsibility would lie squarely with the MD and CEO of the respective company.
What would follow is not only a penalty, the details of which are being worked out, but ostracisation of the company by expelling it from industry associations, making the details of the violation and reprimand public and forcing the company to issue a corrective statement, in most likelihood signed by its chief executive. Further, the drug firms concerned may be prohibited from using brand names of competitive products in their promotional activities trying to claim superiority for its products.
The new guidelines would also prohibit drug firms to get doctors to endorse their products both online and offline.
An official from the department of pharmaceuticals said that the rules are being formulated in consultation with the health ministry to ensure that they are in sync with the guidelines from the Medical Council of India (MCI). This is important because last year the MCI had already prohibited doctors from accepting freebies from drug firms.
However, the MCI norms have not been able to achieve the desired results fully. This is because while the provisions could lead to the cancellation of the the registration of the doctors if found guilty, the drug firms got away scot free. The new guidelines would bring all the stakeholders within its purview so would be more comprehensive.
The pharma department is currently giving finishing touches to the guidelines. The guidelines, though stringent, would give time to the drug firms to comply with them. ?For the first six months after the new guidelines come into force, compliance would be voluntary during which the companies and industry are expected to build structures to implement them. Only if it is found that lapses are taking place would the government make the guidelines statutory in nature,? an official from department of pharma told FE.
However, the new guidelines are still being seen by the doctor fraternity as being soft on drug firms. The medicos had demanded that since the MCI had the powers to cancel their registration, similarly the Drugs and Cosmetics Act should be amended to cancel the licence of the guilty drug firm.