The Supreme Court said the pharma marketing code must be strong enough to let cheated consumers file easy complaints and get proper remedies. The Bench questioned why the government’s UCPMP 2024 still lacks a solid, enforceable complaint mechanism.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday said that the rules under the uniform code for pharmaceutical marketing must be strong enough to protect every consumer.
The Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta stressed that procedures should ensure that any person who gets cheated by unethical practices of drug companies can easily file a complaint and get a proper remedy.
The Court remarked that there must be clear and effective steps so that consumers have a simple and convenient way to report wrongdoing and see that strict action is taken.
The Court was hearing a petition asking for the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) to be strengthened in order to stop alleged unethical marketing behaviour by pharmaceutical companies.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, representing the Central government, said the government has already made several policies to control drug pricing and regulate such activities.
He also pointed out that the Uniform Code for Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices (UCPMP), 2024 bans pharma companies from giving gifts, travel benefits, and hospitality to doctors or their family members.
However, the Bench questioned why the code does not contain strong and user-friendly complaint mechanisms if the government has already introduced it.
The Court asked,
“But if you have brought out a code, why should not that code be having appropriate measures whereby the consumers have a convenient mechanism for lodging their complaints and ensuring that action is taken against erring companies.” The Bench also stated that the system must be strong enough so that “every person or the consumer who is cheated should be having access and proper remedy”.
Nataraj explained the complaint and penalty procedures under the UCPMP and said that an independent online portal could soon be created for this purpose.
He also referred to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which regulates the import, manufacturing, distribution and sale of medicines in India. On the matter of drug pricing, he informed the Court that there is a separate system and regulation in place.
Senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the UCPMP 2024 is still only a voluntary code and therefore does not effectively prevent unethical marketing practices.
Because of this, the Bench asked the Centre’s law officer to take instructions on whether the government is planning to introduce a proper law to regulate such issues. The Court also asked Parikh to submit detailed suggestions on the problems highlighted in the petition.
The Bench directed the Centre to respond after reviewing the suggestions and then posted the matter for further hearing on December 16.
Earlier, while hearing the case in September, the Supreme Court had pointed out that the real issue was the poor “implementation” of the existing rules.
The plea was originally taken up in March 2022, when the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Central government seeking its reply. The petition was filed by the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Association of India and others.
They requested the Court to either frame guidelines to regulate unethical marketing by drug companies or make the current code binding with suitable modifications until a proper law is passed.
The petition explained that doctors are bound by the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, which prevent them from accepting gifts, entertainment, travel perks, hospitality or monetary benefits from pharmaceutical companies.
ALSO READ: Toxic Syrup Tragedy | Court Sends Tamil Nadu Pharma Owner to Judicial Custody
But this code applies only to doctors and not drug companies, creating an unfair situation. The plea stated that this results in cases where doctors get punished and even lose their licence for misconduct, while the pharma companies that
“actuated, encouraged, aided, and abetted”
such misconduct face no consequences.
The petition also alleged that under the guise of “sales promotion”, many companies offer foreign trips, gifts, hospitality and other rewards to doctors to push up sales.
According to the petitioners, there is currently no legal framework that regulates drug promotion by pharmaceutical companies towards healthcare professionals, which is why such unethical practices continue unchecked.
