Unethical marketing practices in the pharmaceutical sector undermine rational drug use and patient trust. Discuss with reference to UCPMP 2024.

Q. Unethical marketing practices in the pharmaceutical sector undermine rational drug use and patient trust. Discuss with reference to UCPMP 2024. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Prescription in India is a fiduciary act, yet aggressive promotion — gifts, hospitality and sponsored travel routed to doctors — converts it into a commercial transaction. The Uniform Code of Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices (UCPMP) 2024, notified by the Department of Pharmaceuticals on 12.03.2024 [1], seeks to restore ethical balance in doctor–industry interactions.

How unethical promotion distorts rational drug use - Inducement-driven prescribing: gifts and monetary benefits to doctors and their family members bias drug choice toward the highest-margin brand rather than the clinically optimal one — hence their explicit prohibition [1]. - Brand capture over generics: promotional pressure works against generic prescribing, which the IMC (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2002 mandate in capital letters [1]. - Disguised promotion: conferences, seminars and CME/CPD events can become marketing vehicles, which is why UCPMP requires disclosure of expenditure on them [1].

Erosion of patient trust - Perceived conflict of interest weakens confidence in medical advice; promotional costs are ultimately passed on to patients as higher out-of-pocket spending. - Accountability was weak earlier: UCPMP 2015 operated from 01.01.2015 as a purely voluntary code enforced by industry associations themselves [2], with the Government relying on association-level ethics committees [3].

UCPMP 2024 as a corrective - Institutional machinery: association-level Ethics Committees for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (ECPMP), with appeals to an Apex Committee headed by the Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals [4]. - Transparency: self-declaration of compliance and publication of complaint details on association websites [4]. - Deterrence: recovery of money or items given in violation, corrective media statements, and referral for action under existing laws [1].

Remaining gap: it is still a Code, not a statute, so penal force depends on other laws.

UCPMP 2024 thus shifts pharmaceutical marketing from self-regulation towards supervised accountability. Placing it on a statutory footing, linking violations to tax and licensing consequences, and strengthening generic-drug promotion through Jan Aushadhi would complete the transition — ensuring that the right to health under Article 21 is served by evidence, not by inducement.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. Uniform Code of Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices 2024 to prevent unethical marketing and ensuring responsible promotion of pharmaceutical products — PIB, Department of Pharmaceuticals — notification date 12.03.2024; ban on gifts/monetary benefits/hospitality to doctors and family members; CME expenditure disclosure; generic prescription under IMC Regulations 2002; recovery and corrective-statement penalties 2. Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices — PIB — UCPMP 2015 in operation from 01.01.2015 and voluntary in nature 3. Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) — PIB — association-level ethics committee structure under the earlier voluntary code 4. UCPMP 2024 Portal, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers — two-tier mechanism: ECPMP at association level, appeal to Apex Committee headed by Secretary, DoP; self-declaration and publication of complaint details