The central government has extended the deadline for pharmaceutical and medical device company executives to submit their legal self-declarations, confirming they will abstain from unethical marketing practices to promote their products.
These companies now have until July 31, 2024, to file the self-declaration undertakings. In these declarations, top executives must assure the government of their commitment to ethical marketing practices. The self-declarations are mandated for the fiscal year 2025 under the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), 2024.
Due to the inability of some pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to meet the initial deadline, they requested the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) for an extension.
This extension provides relief for these companies, as failing to meet the original deadline would have resulted in government action. The requirements were instituted following allegations that Micro Labs, the makers of Dolo 650 mg, had offered incentives to doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic to prescribe its anti-fever medication.
Introduced in March 2024, the UCPMP aims to promote transparency and ethical conduct among pharmaceutical and medical device companies in their marketing activities. It prohibits offering incentives such as gifts, travel, hospitality, and monetary benefits to doctors for prescribing specific medicines.
As reported by livemint.com, failure to file the declarations on time or to comply with other norms outlined in the code could lead to government action against the non-compliant companies.