Freebies for doctors? Govt is watching drugmakers

livemint.com:

₹1,000 crore to doctors to prescribe the pain and fever reliever. Two years later, the government has decided to sharpen its glare on the marketing practices of pharmaceutical firms amid reports of these companies offering a range of freebies to doctors to promote their medicines. The department of pharmaceuticals, under the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, has sought expenditure details from these companies on distribution of free samples, and expenses incurred on organising conferences, workshops, training and seminars, as part of a broader initiative to curb unethical marketing practices by drugmakers.

The department of pharmaceuticals has written to drugmakers seeking expenditure details on distribution of free samples, and expenses incurred on organizing conferences and workshops, as part of a broader initiative to curb unethical marketing practices. The particulars must be filed on ongoing basis and mandatorily within two months of every financial year, the department said, in a communication seen by Mint. In the case of distributing free samples, the department has sought details of month, year, monetary value of the samples, details of recipient and domestic sales revenue of the particular drug.

In the case of events, the authorities have asked for details including month, year, total number of events and expenditure incurred. Queries sent to the department of pharmaceuticals remained unanswered till press time. A senior executive at Micro Labs, maker of Dolo, said the 2022 matter remains under investigation.