AbbVie Healthcare under government lens for 'violations'
department of pharmaceuticals (DoP) has reprimanded AbbVie Healthcare India for unethical marketing practices after a top panel found the company violated provisions of the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) by sponsoring foreign vacations to Monaco and Paris for 30 doctors.
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The company is under the scanner for spending more than ₹1 crore on the travel of the concerned healthcare professionals, expenditure that violates the ethics code.
The DoP has now asked the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to evaluate the tax liability of the company and take action in accordance with the Income-tax Act. It has also sought National Medical Council's intervention to take action against the healthcare professionals as per their regulations.
In May, the DoP had received an anonymous complaint concerning unethical marketing related to AbbVie's local subsidiary, AbbVie Healthcare India, alleging a breach of the UCPMP practices. The complaint outlined that AbbVie provided travel tickets and hotel accommodation for extravagant pleasure trips under the guise of a conference -Aesthetics and Anti-ageing Medicine World Congress 2024.
The first conference took place from February 1-3, 2024, in Monaco and another from March 26-29 in Paris. The complaint alleged that 30 doctors connected to medical
