New Delhi: The Department of Pharmaceuticals recently notified a new code, the Uniform Code for Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices (UCPMP) 2024, that forbids pharmaceutical companies and their representatives from offering gifts, travel facilities or financial incentives to healthcare professionals, as well as their relatives. The code also confines the supply of free samples to professionals that are qualified to prescribe such products.
The UCPMP guidelines read, “No gift should be offered or provided for personal benefit of any healthcare professional or family member (both immediate and extended) by any pharmaceutical company or its agent i.e. distributors, wholesalers, retailers, etc.”
Additionally, pharmaceutical companies or their agents (like distributors, retailers, wholesalers, etc) can not offer, promise or supply financial advantages, cash, monetary grants or similar benefits to anyone who is qualified to prescribe or supply drugs.
The code also stated that pharma companies cannot extend travel amenities (like rail, ship, air, paid vacations, cruise tickets, etc) to healthcare professionals, or their families, inside or outside the country with the provision of attending conferences, workshops or seminars.
To ensure compliance, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has urged drug firm associations to establish an Ethics Committee for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (ECPMP). They have also been instructed to create a dedicated UCPMP portal on their websites and to undertake necessary actions for the code’s implementation.
The UCPMP 2024 insists that promotion of drugs have to align with the terms of marketing approval and prohibits the promotion of drugs before marketing approval is obtained. The code said, “Information about drugs must be balanced, up-to-date, verifiable, must not mislead either directly or by implication; accurately reflect current knowledge or responsible opinion.”
Furthermore, the code sets high ethical standards for medical representatives, stressing that they must not use inducements or subterfuges to secure interviews or access to healthcare professionals.
