Govt Warns Pharma Companies – Don’t Promote Products Unethically
Last week, the Indian government reiterated its warning to pharma firms against granting inducements to physicians and family members.
A letter was sent to pharma associations, the Dept of Pharmaceuticals, the apex body for laying down plans for drug manufacturers, stating that pharma firms shouldn’t advertise their products in unethical means, and also by offering traveling or accommodation to physicians attending conferences, workshops, and so on.
The letter further stated that this department had received a complaint claiming that in January 2021, the Annual National Conference of Indian Psychotropic Society is going to be organized, and the pharma firms are sponsoring it.
It then conjures up the ethics and standards under the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), a voluntary code of conduct for ethical marketing practices.
The letter is written to associations – the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, and the Federation of Pharma Entrepreneurs.
These associations asserted they had never ever come across the organization discussed in the letter – Indian Psychotropic Society (IPS) – implying that it may rather be directed at the IPS, representing psychiatrists and
is thought to be intending its annual national conference in January 2021. However, the IPS contradicted receiving any letter from the Dept of Pharmaceuticals or having an event planned for January 2021 in Visakhapatnam.S. Aparna, secretary, the Department of Pharmaceuticals, stated that they are “getting it corrected.” A response is expected on a succeeding inquiry asking if it was certainly the IPS that they looked for to refer to.
Details of the letter
The letter was signed by Byasadev Naik, deputy director, DoP. The letter conjures up the UCPMP provision that claims that “pharmaceutical company or their associations/representatives or anyone acting on their part will not prolong any travel facility inside or outside the country, including rail, air, ship, cruise tickets, paid holidays, etc. to the medical care specialists and their family for attending seminars, conferences, workshops, CME program, etc., as a representative.
As per the letter, if a doctor takes part as a delegate in any seminar, meeting, or conferences organized by a pharmaceutical firm for promoting a medication or advertising info, it will certainly be at his/her very own cost.
The letter further stated that all the pharma associations are asked to ensure that the pharma firms comply with the above provisions of UCPMP.
Incapable of tracing Indian Psychotropic Society
The pharma associations claimed that they had tried to look up the “IPS.” However, they were not able to find it. Representatives of IDMA, IPA as well as FOPE, seeking anonymity, stated even a Google search had not shown any results.
A veteran of the psychotropics industry, which deals with medications formulated for mental health concerns, was baffled as well. Navdeep Chawla, managing director of a pharmaceutical firm, Psychotropics India, stated that he had never heard of any such society regardless of remaining in the industry of psychotropic drug production for the past three decades.
A senior executive at DoP stated that the name was stated in the complaint provided to the National Human Rights Commission.
The industry inferred the letter may be written for the IPS, whose annual nationwide meeting is assumed to be scheduled in January.
Anyway, P.K. Dalal, IPS president, disputed this. They have actually not got any letter from the DoP, and they are not Indian Psychotropic Society.
The yearly meeting of the IPS had actually provoked comparable problems earlier this year, yet the organization had actually insisted on its conformity with ethical practices.
Govt Warns Pharma Companies – Don’t Promote Products Unethically
