Context

The Department of Pharmaceuticals issued the UCPMP 2024 (Uniform Code for Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices).

Key Highlights of the UCPMP 2024 On Ethical Practices of Pharma Companies

• Transparent and Clear set of Rules: The pharmaceutical sector should only engage with healthcare professionals for Continuing Medical Education (CME) based on clear, transparent, and verifiable rules.
• Prohibition of Activities in Foreign Countries: Conducting such activities in foreign countries is prohibited by the uniform code.
• Prohibition from offering Incentives: Medical representatives shall not offer any incentives or pay for access to a healthcare practitioner.
• No Pecuniary Grant to Healthcare Professionals: Companies or their representatives should not pay cash or monetary grants to any healthcare professional or their family members (both immediate and extended) under any pretext.
  • Gifting is prohibited by any pharmaceutical company or its agent (distributors, wholesalers, retailers, etc).
• No benefit in Kind:  No pharmaceutical corporation or its representative may offer, supply, or guarantee any financial or in-kind benefit to any individual competent to prescribe or supply medications.
• No Paid Travel and Accommodation: Pharmaceutical businesses or their agents should not provide paid travel or hotel accommodations to healthcare professionals or their family members, unless the person is a CME speaker.
• Allowed Funds for Research: The Union government has granted corporations permission to donate research funds to healthcare experts, as long as they do it in a transparent manner.
• Supporting Research Studies: The guidelines enable the industry to fund research for studies approved by organizations such as the Indian Council for Medical Research/ the Drug Controller General of India.

Key Highlights of the UCPMP 2024 On Drugs

• Consistent with Marketing Approval: The UCPMP states that promotion of a drug must be consistent with the terms of its marketing approval.
• Accurate Assessment: Claims about a drug’s usefulness must be based on an up-to-date assessment of all available evidence.
• Specifying Exact details and Effects: The term ‘safe’ should not be used without qualification, nor should it be asserted categorically that a medicine has no adverse effects, toxic dangers, or risk of addiction.
• Categorically using the word “New”: Any drug or therapy intervention that has been widely advertised in India for more than a year cannot be described as ‘new’.

Implementation of the UCPMP 2024:

• Formation of an Ethics Committee: All associations have been asked to form an Ethics Committee for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices in order to ensure rigorous compliance with the UCPMP.
• Establishing a Dedicated Portal: Create a dedicated UCPMP portal on their website and take essential steps for code implementation.
• Grievance Redressal: All Indian pharmaceutical associations are required to post the UCPMP on their websites, along with a thorough method for registering complaints.
  • This will be linked to the UCPMP portal of the Department of Pharmaceuticals.

Need for the UCPMP 2024:

• Preventing Unethical Practices: The UCPMP 2015 for Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industry is being implemented (effective 1.1.2015) to prevent pharmaceutical businesses from engaging in unethical acts.
• No Legal Backing: Much of the criticism directed at this version of the code stemmed from its voluntary character. There was no legal backing for its provisions, therefore they remained impotent.
• Making the Guidelines Mandatory: Several health campaigners have long demanded that it be made mandatory. The Department of Pharmaceuticals’ annual report for 2017-18 pressed on making it mandatory.
  • While the government has now removed the word ‘voluntary’ from the code, which was there in the previous version, it has stopped short of making it mandatory.
• Request by the Government: It has now simply’requested’ the pharmaceutical industry’ organizations to ensure that the code is ‘executed’.

News Source: Business Standard