Form panel to curb pharma freebies: SC

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The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now. Read Today's Paper Form panel to curb pharma freebies: SCBy Indu Bhan, ET BureauLast Updated: Oct 09, 2026, 12:00:00 AM ISTSynopsis

The Supreme Court has ordered the government to establish a committee to investigate unethical pharmaceutical marketing. The committee is to evaluate current regulatory frameworks and enforcement mechanisms. It must also consult stakeholders and submit recommendations within two months of its first meeting. After reviewing the committee's report, the government will prepare a compliance affidavit. The court is set to consider this affidavit in a hearing scheduled for January 29.

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Loading...×New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the government to set up a committee within two weeks to examine unethical pharmaceutical marketing practices such as offering freebies to doctors to influence prescribing decisions, and recommend an effective statutory framework to regulate such practices.

The committee shall thoroughly examine all issues relating to unethical pharmaceutical marketing practices, including the adequacy of the existing statutory and regulatory framework, the effectiveness of existing monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, and measures required to improve transparency, accountability and compliance to safeguard the larger public interest, a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said.

The Centre has two weeks to constitute the committee, while the panel must submit its recommendations within two months of its first meeting after consulting petitioners, intervenors and other stakeholders, the court said in its order.

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The government shall then consider the recommendations, take a decision and file a compliance affidavit within two weeks of the deadline for the committee's report, the bench said. The court will consider the compliance affidavit in its next hearing, on January 29.

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The directions were given on a petition by Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Associations of India, a non-government organisation, seeking the Centre to issue guidelines to control and regulate unethical marketing practices by pharmaceutical companies, which they said resulted in excessive prescription of high-priced drugs, affecting the right to health and life of the citizens.

The court said the material on record warrants a careful examination of the measures required to strengthen the existing regulatory mechanism, to check unethical practices in the pharmaceutical sector and ensure availability of ethical, accessible and affordable healthcare services to the public.

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"Such a framework must, ultimately, ensure that the legitimate interests of the pharmaceutical industry are balanced with the paramount consideration of protecting patients and safeguarding the larger public interest in ethical, accessible and affordable healthcare," the court said.

The material furnished before it indicated that the existing framework has not been entirely effective in preventing and curbing unethical practices in the pharmaceutical sector, it observed.
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Read More News onSupreme Court Indiapharmaceutical marketing practicesfreebies to doctorsunethical marketing in pharmaceuticalshealthcare regulationsgovernment committee for pharma regulationethical pharmaceutical practicespatient protection healthcarepublic health advocacyFederation of Medical and Sales Representatives Associations of India

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Read More News onSupreme Court Indiapharmaceutical marketing practicesfreebies to doctorsunethical marketing in pharmaceuticalshealthcare regulationsgovernment committee for pharma regulationethical pharmaceutical practicespatient protection healthcarepublic health advocacyFederation of Medical and Sales Representatives Associations of India

(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

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