Supreme Courtroom Backs Generic Medication Prescriptions, Urges Regulation of Pharma Advertising and marketing Practices

New Delhi: Supreme Courtroom on Thursday remarked that the docs ought to solely prescribe generic medicines and never any specific model, as has been ordered in Rajasthan. It made these remarks whereas listening to a petition looking for regulation of unethical advertising practices by pharmaceutical corporations.

“If this directive is applied throughout the nation, it can result in an enormous change,” mentioned Justice Sandeep Mehta, who was a part of a three-judge bench together with Justices Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol.

The petition contended that pharmaceutical corporations are bribing docs in order that they prescribe extreme or irrational medicine and push for over-priced manufacturers. Not solely does it convey up medical prices for the frequent man, it ca additionally result in overuse of medicine which has detrimental results, or create drug dependence.

The petition additionally mentioned pharmaceutical corporations needs to be held accountable for offering freebies to docs.

In an earlier listening to, the lawyer representing Federation of Medical and Gross sales Representatives Affiliation of India (FMRAI) cited what he mentioned was a Central Board of Direct Taxes press launch to contend that the producer of Dolo 650, a well-liked fever drug, had spent Rs 1,000 crore in freebies.

The court docket remarked that the problem of pharmaceutical corporations allegedly bribing docs might be resolved if there’s a statutory mandate for docs to prescribe generic medicines.

“This can observe according to what you’re praying. In Rajasthan, there may be now an govt instruction that each medical skilled should prescribe generic drugs. They can not prescribe by any firm title. That ought to handle the issues,” the court docket mentioned.