Hindu Business Line: New Delhi: Thursday, September 28,
2017.
The government
has refused to reveal the details of the objections raised by the Law Ministry
to the draft Essential Commodities (Control of Unethical Practices in Marketing
of Drugs) Order 2017.
This draft
order, which was circulated in June this year, has been blocked by the Law
Ministry, which said it could not be passed under the proposed legal framework.
Uniform
code
In response
to an application filed under the Right to Information Act by a doctor and
health activist, GS Grewal, the government has also declined to comment on any
latest proposals on uniform code of pharmaceutical marketing practices (UCPMP),
citing the section under the RTI Act that gives the government the right to
deny information if it could “affect the sovereignty and integrity of India,
the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State.”
Ironically,
the government has been cracking down on pharmaceutical companies for alleged
unethical practices such as funding of doctors, even though the existing rules
governing marketing in the industry are only voluntary.
Grewal said,
“We have been knocking at the doors of the highest office in the country (PMO)
and they admitted to corruption in the medical industry. Despite that, the code
of conduct remains voluntary. Why such double standards? Corruption by
pharmaceuticals and healthcare professionals continue unabated.”
Loopholes
in draft
The draft
order on marketing of drugs was also seen as going easy on the industry, with
several loopholes that could be exploited by the industry to manipulate the
market. While the order sought to block direct funding to doctors and chemists,
the rules allowed for alternate routes, such as funding medical seminars
through associations.
It also
allows pharmaceutical companies to pay doctors their “daily income” for
participating in health awareness camps, and kept the burgeoning medical
devices sector completely out of the ambit of these regulations.
.JPG)
.JPG)
