Govt Panel and Pharma Industry to discuss ethical marketing practices on Nov 4

New Delhi, Nov 2 (KNN) To discuss ways to counter unethical marketing practices with fair ones a government set up high-level panel of experts will meet pharmaceutical industry officials on November 4, 2022.

The third meeting of the committee is slated to take place to consider various issues pertaining to marketing practices by pharma firms, reported News18.

To restrict the bribing of doctors by pharmaceutical companies, earlier in September the government formed a five-member panel.

Debate concerning the pharma-doctor nexus was brought into the spotlight once again due to the controversy of the alleged bribing of doctors by the makers of Dolo, Micro Labs.

Impelled by this the central government formed a high-level panel to review the marketing practices of drugmakers and examine the requirement for a legally enforceable mechanism.

The panel is engaged in reviewing the existing code of conduct, the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), which was rolled out in 2015 as a voluntary set of rules to be adopted by all the major pharmaceutical associations.

The panel is led by Dr VK Paul, a member (health) at NITI Aayog, as its chairman. The four other members are S Aparna, secretary of the department of pharmaceuticals, Rajesh Bhushan, secretary, ministry of health and family welfare, Nitin Gupta, chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), and a joint secretary (policy) from the department of pharmaceuticals.  (KNN Bureau)