Indian pharma: Unethical practices, marketing rules under lens; new review body set up

The government has set up a committee to review the rules governing pharmaceutical marketing and recommend measures to strengthen oversight of industry practices, including interactions between drugmakers and healthcare professionals, PTI reported.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals has constituted the panel under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog Member M Srinivas, with former Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan and Medanta CMD Naresh Trehan as members, according to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers on Friday.

The committee has been asked to submit its recommendations within two months of its first meeting after consulting relevant stakeholders and experts.


Its mandate includes assessing the existing regulatory framework and identifying measures to improve monitoring, supervision and enforcement to prevent unethical pharmaceutical marketing practices.

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The panel will also examine whether the current system requires additional regulatory safeguards or changes to statutory and other legal provisions to ensure effective implementation.

The review comes against the backdrop of the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), which was introduced in 2015 as a voluntary, industry-led mechanism to promote ethical conduct in pharmaceutical marketing and regulate interactions between drug companies and healthcare professionals.

The government subsequently replaced the original framework with UCPMP 2024, which introduced a strengthened implementation mechanism and remains in force.

The committee will assess the existing arrangements under this framework and recommend changes, where necessary, to address gaps in oversight and enforcement.

As part of its work, the panel will engage with relevant stakeholders, technical and professional experts, domain specialists, institutions and other bodies. It will consider their submissions while developing its recommendations, the statement said.

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The committee has also been tasked with examining any other issues relevant to preventing unethical practices in pharmaceutical marketing and proposing appropriate measures to address them.

The recommendations are expected to provide inputs for strengthening the regulatory framework governing pharmaceutical companies' marketing activities and their engagement with healthcare professionals.