Doctors who went on pharma trip may lose licence

Sanket Koul & Sohini Das/Business Standard

American drug major AbbVie Healthcares Indian arm, which is under the scanner for sponsoring foreign trips of 30 doctors in violation of the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) rules, may be in for more trouble as the government is mulling taking action against the company executive who signed the self-declaration to abide by the rules, government sources said.

According to UCPMP 2024, a self-declaration is to be signed by the executive head of the company regarding compliance to the marketing practices code. It has to be made within two months of the end of every financial year.

This could be the managing director or the CEO of the company.

If taken, it would be a first-of-its-kind action under the UCPMP 2024.

The case has sent jitters down Indias pharma circles who are watching with keen interest to understand implications of a breach of ethical marketing practices.

"Suitable action would be taken against the company executive who has signed the self-declaration under the UCPMP," said a senior government official, without specifying the nature of penal action.

The doctors involved, he added, may lose their registration to practice if the allegations are proved.

AbbVie Healthcare India is under the lens for breach of the ethical marketing code by sponsoring foreign trips to Monaco and Paris for 30 doctors to improve their 'knowledge' on popular anti-aging products Botox and Juvederm.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has also asked tax authorities to assess the liability of the company and  the physicians.

The department has also asked the National Medical Commission (NMC) to take action against doctors for professional misconduct. 24 of them went to Paris, and six to Monaco.

On its part, Allergan Aesthetics, which is an arm of AbbVie Healthcare, said, 'We are disappointed in the DoPs decision to find Allergan Aesthetics in violation of the Uniform Code for Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices (UCPMP).'

At the moment Suresh Pattathil is the managing director and general manager, AbbVie India. He was also the president of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, which represents multinational pharma companies in India.

Meanwhile, this breach has implications for the medical practitioners as well.

NMC is also planning to take action against the doctors who took part in the foreign trip sponsored by AbbVie Healthcare India, according to government sources.